Wife and Kids
by potterfan36041
Summary: Sequel to Come Crying to Me. Tommy and Kimberly embark on a new life together, but facts about their past rise up to haunt them, along with other sudden twists and turns, but all he ever wanted was just a wife and kids.
1. Chapter 1

"We'll take good care of them," Jason said as Kim barely nodded as Tommy grabbed her hand and gently pulled her towards the car. Their wedding day had been a blissful dream for the two of them and it had gone off without any hiccups. Jeremy had stayed far away from the kids for the past six months and they both were thankful, otherwise Tommy would probably be in jail. He was far too attached to let anything happen to the kids and Kimberly knew that.

"Thanks," Kim yelled back as their friends threw birdseed at them and managed to shower Tommy heavily, while Kim only got a light sprinkling.

"They'll be fine Kim, you know that Jason and Trini won't let anything happen to them," Tommy said as he sat down in the driver's seat and she sat down next to him.

"I know, but I still worry," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her and then leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Let's enjoy this weekend and then we'll get back to having the kids around all the time," Tommy said as she smiled over at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek as he pulled out of the drive and headed towards the old cabin that his uncle owned. Sure, it was not much of a honeymoon, but the two of them had Jessie and Austin to look after now. They could not afford a week away from everything else in the world, things could happen if they stayed away that long.

From across the street a navy sedan turned to follow them out of the city. The man had done his research, he knew who the two of them were and their past lives and he had an interesting proposition for the both of them. He just hoped that they would hear him out and would not throw him out before he even got two words out about his motives.

* * *

"Tommy, have you noticed that car?" Kim asked as she pointed to her mirror and Tommy nodded his head yes. The car had been following them since they had left Angel Grove and he had thought the man would turn off somewhere between there and Stone Canyon, but he hadn't and they were approaching the road to take them to the lake house rather quickly.

"Don't worry about it, if they follow us up to the house, I'll take care of it," Tommy said as Kim looked over at him and he reached over and took her hand in his. "I won't do anything crazy, Kim."

"But if it is…" Kim began as Tommy just shook his head. He had been studying the man and he was sure that it was not Jeremy. "How can you be so sure?"

"I've been watching the man for the last hour, I'm pretty sure that it's not Jeremy," Tommy said as Kim nodded, but it did not make her feel any better, considering that this was supposed to be their honeymoon and they were being followed by some maniac. The rest of the ride they sat in silence as they moved from a gravel to a dirt road and finally entered the property where the cabin was located. The sedan had followed them all the way and Tommy let out a long sigh as he parked and then motioned for Kim to just stay in the car as he stepped out and the man in the car behind them stepped out as well.

"Don't shoot!" Brad yelled as he got out of his car with his hands held high in the air and Tommy gave him a confused look. He had started carrying a gun in the car after Kim and the kids had moved in with him, they all felt that Jeremy would do some pretty drastic things if he had the right motivation. Although the edge had been taken off of it a bit, he still worried and Kim knew it, not that she really blamed him at this point. "I'm FBI, from the California Special Investigations Branch. I'm going to reach for my badge now."

"What do you want?" Tommy asked as he walked to the back of the car and placed the one suitcase that they had brought on the dirt as he looked over at the man and saw him waving the badge in the air.

"To talk to you, I promise it will only take about fifteen minutes of your time," Brad said as Tommy motioned for Kim to get out of the car and she warily did so as she looked back at Brad.

"Some FBI idiot," Tommy muttered as Kim just shook her head as Brad took a long look at her. He could not believe that she was a mother of two, much less a former ranger, but that was something that he was going to have to slowly reveal to them that he knew. The fact was they needed some help and the only ones that could possibly help them were rangers. He just hoped that they would take the deal.

"Brad Shurwood," Brad yelled as he still stood behind the door of his car and Tommy motioned for him to follow them. He had been taking a huge risk to follow them today, but he knew that his chances were going to be slim for the next several months and he had to get them alone. There could be no one else around to witness what was about to occur.

"Start talking," Tommy said as they all sat down on the front porch and Brad took in a deep breath as he pulled out an enveloped from under his arm and passed it to Tommy.

"That envelope contains all of the investigative research that has been done to insure that the two of you are indeed former Power Rangers," Brad said as Tommy snatched his head up and Kim quickly caught his hand. "This envelope has the task that I have been forced to ask you to deal with."

"We don't work for the government; we never have," Tommy said as Brad nodded that he knew that.

"I know and if there was any way to get around this, I wouldn't ask you, but we have had a rogue scientist go wrong with a project and now we think he might be after the earth," Brad said as Tommy looked at him with a look that clearly said that he could not believe that this was happening. "His name is Anton Mercer, although we are not sure what he goes by now."

"And you want us to do what exactly?" Kim asked as Tommy sat there shell shocked. He knew Anton Mercer, he had worked with him a couple of years ago and then there had been an explosion in the lab. He was the only one to make it out in time or so he thought.

"What you do best," Brad said as Tommy just shook his head.

"We can't, we've got kids to look after, you can't think that we'll be able to keep them safe and be rangers at the same time," Kim said as Tommy looked away and she looked over at him. "What's going on?"

"I knew Anton and I'm afraid I might know some of the projects that could have gone slightly evil if they were in the wrong hands," Tommy said as Kim stared at him and he took the envelope from Brad. "Do you have any idea where to start with this?"

"Other than the name I was given, there was nothing else to go on," Brad said as Tommy just shook his head. "I was told that you are the only people that can do this, if anyone can."

"But how did you know who we are?" Kim asked as Brad looked down at the floor.

"I can't really tell you how we found out about you, but that is all the information that we have and no copies exist, I made sure of it myself, but in order for you to keep it, we have to have some help," Brad said as Tommy nodded. He had seen this coming since he handed them the envelopes, but he could tell by looking at Kim that this was the first time she had thought of it.

"What do you want?" Kim asked, feeling as if she was making a deal with the devil.

"The destruction of him, whatever he is now. I'm sure that he'll eventually show up and as long as the rangers are the ones that intercept him, everything will be fine," Brad said as he stood and they then stood with him. "I understand that this is your honeymoon and I don't want this to cloud your weekend, but I had to guarantee that I would get the two of you alone."

"Don't you…" Kim said holding out the envelope and he shook his head no.

"I trust that you'll do that job, only a handful of people know who you are and most of them know it because they were in cahoots with Mercer and went running when his project started going aria. They were the people that suggested trying to find you in the first place," Brad said looking over at Tommy who just shook his head as he tried to avoid Kim's gaze. He knew that he was in deep trouble and he didn't want to face her if he could help it. "Have a good weekend."

"You too," Kim said as Brad walked over to his car and she watched Tommy's face fill with tension as the weight of what they had agree to settled on him. "On Tuesday we will worry about this Tommy. Right now, I want you to take me inside."


	2. Chapter 2

"Daddy!" Austin yelled as he ran down the driveway to meet them and Tommy picked him up and swung him around. They had enjoyed their honeymoon, however short it had been, but they both knew they couldn't put off looking at the information much longer. If Mercer were to unleash whatever he had in the near future, they needed to be as ready as they could be, especially with the kids. They both agreed that they could not risk them, no matter what. "Come see what I made!"

"I will, where's Jess?" Tommy asked as Austin shrugged his shoulders as Tommy carried him back towards Jason and Trini's house.

"Isn't Mama coming inside?" Austin asked as Tommy shook his head no. "Why not?"

"She's tired," Tommy said as Austin nodded. It was much more than that from what Tommy could tell, but he knew that Austin would not understand, he barely understood it himself.

"Hey Tommy," Trini said as she walked over to him and gave him a one armed hug as she was holding six month old Jacob in her other arm. "Kim not coming in?"

"Tired," Tommy said as Trini gave him a suspicious look and he just shook his head. He knew nothing more than what she told him and he was not going to dig into it. He did not want to fight with her right now if he could help it. "Where's Jess?"

"In back with Blake and Kelli," Trini said as she headed out the front door. She was still going to visit with Kim, even if she didn't really want her to.

"Daddy, come on," Austin said as he grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the table where he had been sitting, waiting for them to get there. He then picked up a picture and showed it to Tommy. He smiled as he saw the portrayal of Austin's favorite ranger and then there was another picture off to the side of what looked like their family, except there were five people.

"Who's that?" Tommy asked as Austin looked up at him as if he was stupid.

"It's us, you, me, Mama, Jessie, and the baby," Austin said as Tommy looked down at him. From what he knew Kim was not pregnant, unless she had been keeping it a secret from him and he honestly hoped that she had not been. After the news that they had just been forced to deal with, he was not sure if he could take that as well.

"The baby?" Tommy asked as Austin just nodded his head as if it was the most natural thing and then pulled Tommy into the back room, where Blake, Kelli, and Jessie were watching Finding Nemo.

"Hey," Jason said as he looked back at Tommy and patted a seat next to him and Tommy just shook his head that he couldn't. He really was in a hurry to leave today, or at least that was the impression that he was getting from Kimberly. "Why not?"

"Kim is in a hurry to get home," Tommy said as Jason gave him a look. He had never known Kim to give up an opportunity for her and Trini to have an afternoon where the two of them could watch after the older kids. "I'll explain it all later, but right now I gotta get them out of here."

"But Daddy, there's only a little bit left," Jessie whined as Tommy gave her a rather harsh look and she then stood up and went upstairs to gather her things as Austin did the same thing. They could both tell that Tommy was in no mood to deal with their whining today.

"You already have the glare down," Jason said, impressed as Tommy just shook his head. He had basically been their father for the last year and had learned that sometimes he only had to give them a look and nothing more. "When will the adoption go through?"

"In the next two months or so," Tommy said as Jason nodded and Tommy sat down next to him for a moment. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What?" Jason asked as Tommy just shook his head. "That can't be good."

"It's not, we got a request for a special job this weekend," Tommy said as Jason's mouth dropped open, he could not believe the words that had just come out of Tommy's mouth. He had thought that this life had abandoned Tommy years ago. Except for the occasional mission that all former reds were called on, Tommy had led a pretty quiet life, avoiding all the battles when he could manage it. "Yeah, so can you guys come up next weekend?"

"Sure, I don't think we have anything going on, but I'll have to check with Tri just to make sure," Jason said as Tommy nodded as Austin and Jessie stumbled down the stairs with their bags packed and ready to go.

"I'll see you then," Tommy said as he took their bags and they waved good-bye to Kelli and Blake as they ran out ahead of Tommy.

"I'm so sorry," Trini said as Kim finished telling her what had happened on Saturday afternoon. She was dumbstruck that anyone could know about them and it suddenly made her feel less secure about her and Jason's identities as well. There was an obvious reason why Kim and Tommy had been picked, but if they could not do the job, who was to say that others would not be asked next?

"I haven't really thought about it until now, but me and Tommy have to do some serious planning in the next few weeks," Kim said as the kids jumped into the back seat and Trini just gave her a sympathetic look as Tommy put the bags in the trunk before giving Trini a hug. "I guess I'll see you soon."  
"Yeah, be careful Kim," Trini said as Kim nodded and Trini took a step back from the car as Tommy backed out and was soon speeding down the road towards Reefside.

"She told you too?" Jason asked walking up behind Trini and she could not help but jump. "I take that as a yes."

"I just don't understand how it could happen," Trini said as Jason shrugged. He didn't understand it either, but he knew that they were going to have to help them out. It wasn't right for the two of them to feel the weight of all of this when there were many more rangers out there that could easily help with this.


	3. Chapter 3

"They're asleep," Kim whispered as she crawled into bed with Tommy. Both of the kids had been wired and they had not been able to do much more than convince them that tomorrow they were going to go to the park and that if they went to sleep tomorrow would come faster. "Now, what are we going to do?"

"Look at this," Tommy said holding up the envelope that held all the information about Anton Mercer. He knew a great deal about the man already, but he had thought him dead, like many others that had worked on the island. If he really was alive, then they were about to face something that he was sure would be ugly. Mercer had almost unlimited resources and with that, could create anything he could imagine.

"You don't want to find out how they figured out who we were?" Kim asked as Tommy just shook his head no. He had a round about idea of how it could have happened and he just wanted to avoid all of it if he could manage it.

"One day, but not today. It doesn't matter that they found us, what matters is that if we don't get rid of whatever Anton has been up to, that might somehow find its way into the hands of the press," Tommy said as Kim looked over at him.

"He said this was the only copy," Kim said as Tommy just looked over at her. He did not believe that in the least bit. He was sure that there had to be at least one more copy, just in case something went wrong. "You don't believe him?"

"No, I am sure that there has to be at least one more set, maybe two. You only get this sort of information once in a lifetime and you don't destroy it until the people on the other end have fulfilled their deal," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. Leave it to Tommy to see a way that they might still be betrayed, but this was why he had been so good at hiding his identity. He could be connected to more rangers than any of the others and he had to keep a low profile, which was something he had managed to do very well, until now. "Anton was a smart man and if that went wrong…it's going to be rough to pin anything on this thing directly. Lord Zedd and Rita just came after us, I don't think that is going to happen this time. He's going to be more cautious, because he's learned from the past mistakes of others."

"I don't imagine there will be much pinning it down, let's face it, these things come out of the woodwork on their own time, we just have to do our job when they come out," Kim said, calmly as Tommy emptied the contents onto the bed, which contained all of three pieces of paper. Their own folder looked like it had a couple of years worth of information on the two of them, this looked like about two weeks.

"I don't think that we'll be the ones to do it, sadly enough I have some gems that would make good morphers if we find some people that are crazy enough to do it," Tommy said as Kim looked over at him. "He didn't say that we had to do it ourselves; he just said that there is a problem with Mercer."

"Are you suggesting we mentor a team?" Kim accused as Tommy nodded his head yes and she just sunk back against the headboard. She had almost been more willing to be a ranger, at least then she would have the powers to protect her children if something went horribly wrong. "That might be even more dangerous."

"I don't think so. I think we are more likely to have problems if we are the rangers. Let's face it, we're not exactly what most people would think of when they think of rangers. We'd be better off to let some teenagers handle it, Kim. We've already been on enough ranger teams, I don't exactly want to add another one to the list," Tommy said as she barely nodded as she read over the information that the FBI had handed them on Saturday.

"He's smart…he'll know that the government is on to him," Kim said as Tommy nodded. The thought had crossed his mind as well. If Mercer knew that they knew, then he would move up his plans to try to hit them while they were still in the preparation phase. "But they don't know where he is and they don't know that he's even alive. This sounds like a wild goose chase, Tommy."  
"It's not, some of his projects have come out on the defense market since his death and that had to trigger someone's attention. If they dug, I'm sure that they found where the money was going to and I can guarantee that it is something that still has Mercer's name on it," Tommy said as Kim nodded. "There are only a couple of projects that I can think about that could be used against a team like the rangers."

"What's that?" Kim asked as Tommy looked away from her. "Tommy…"

"The tryannadrones, for one, and the DNA fusion machine he created. The tryannadrones would be like supped up puddies and the DNA fusion machine is what allows someone to bond with the dino gems, but there were only five of those and I have three," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. There were times when she wished that they could be like any other couple in the world, with the white picket fence and flowers in the front yard, but that was not their life. It never would be. She loved Tommy, there was no doubt about it in her mind, but times like this made her wonder what she was thinking settling down in this kind of life. "I'm sorry Kim, I really am."

"It's okay, we'll be fine," Kim said as Tommy smiled over at her and pulled her into a long hug.

"I can't believe that you are so understanding about this," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head.

"Tommy, there was always a chance it could happen; I just think we both prayed that it would never happen again," Kim said as Tommy nodded and kissed her on the cheek as he pulled her under the covers. He wished that this life had never come back after him. Kim had been able to live without anything happening to her for years, he seemed to have some sort of crazy mission happen every couple of years. He just hoped that they would get through this and then be able to go on with their lives, without a care in the world.


	4. Chapter 4

"Dr. Oliver, what are you doing here?" Kira asked from her post as a lifeguard as Tommy and Kim walked up with the kids.

"Well, I am human Ms. Ford, and I like swimming just as much as the next person," Tommy said as Kim looked up at him as she nodded to Jessie and Austin that they could go ahead and get in the water. "By the way this is my wife."

"Kira Ford," Kira said holding out her hand and Kim shook it.

"Kimberly," Kim said as Kira nodded her head.

"You look familiar, did you ever do sports?" Kira asked as Kim looked down at the ground.

"I was a gymnast for several years," Kim said as Kira barely nodded. She was sure that she would place the face to the name soon enough.

"Well, have a good weekend Dr. O, I guess it'll be the last one before school starts," Kira said as Tommy glared up at her.

"Don't remind me about that," Tommy said as he felt Austin pulling on his hand and then turned to run towards the lake with him.

"So what do you do?" Kira asked as Kim watched Tommy throw Austin into the deeper water and he doggie paddled back over to him begging for him to do it again.

"Still working on that, I was a gymnastics coach in Maryland, but I'm having a hard time finding a place around here to work," Kim said as Kira nodded as Conner walked over.

"Hey," Conner said propping himself up against the lifeguard tower and trying his best to look cool.

"Have you met Dr. O's wife?" Kira asked as Conner looked between Kim and Kira, both of which were smiling at him.

"Dr. O got married?" Conner asked as Kim nodded her head yes and held up her left hand. "Did I miss this in class or something?"

"I don't think Tommy really told his classes about it, we have to worry about their father enough, we didn't really want too many people to know about it until we were married," Kim said as the both of them exchanged a glance and then looked at Kim.

"He's not their dad?" Kira asked as Kim shook her head no.

"Did you think that I just lived in Maryland and let him live here because this was where he was used to?" Kim asked as Kira and Conner both just stared at her. "I made a mistake awhile ago when I met their dad, I love my kids, but um…he was…it was best to get away from him."

"Why?" Conner asked, promptly sticking his foot in his mouth.

"It's just better this way," Kim said as Jessie ran up to her and started pulling on her shirt. "What is it sweetie?"

"Daddy says you need to come out there with us," Jessie said as Kim looked over at Tommy, who was attempting to keep Austin from swimming out too far.

"Okay," Kim said as she stripped off her shirt and shorts and Conner just stared at her as Kira smacked him on the back of the head.

"She had two kids?" Conner muttered as Kira nodded her head yes. "I need someone like that."

"In your dreams McKnight," Kira said as he looked up at her and shook his head.

"Come on, every girl wants me," Conner said as Kira shook her head no. That was just a world that he let himself live in, but she was more than willing to burst his bubble just to see the look that was now on his face. "Come on, Kira, you have to."

"Some girls like a guy that has a brain bigger than a pea," Kira said as Conner could only stare at her as she smiled at him.

"See ya around," Conner mumbled, as he walked back over to his friends who were playing a game of volleyball. It wasn't that she didn't like Conner; she just knew that she needed to stay away from him. She was afraid of falling for him, she was afraid of herself, because she knew if she got too close she would get hurt.

"What do you think about the two of them?" Kim asked as they swung Austin between the two of them and then tossed him a little ways into the lake.

"He likes her, but she's scared of him, I'm not really sure why," Tommy said as Kim barely nodded as she watched the two of them from a distance. "What are you thinking?"

"That maybe you should push them," Kim said as Tommy just looked at her. "It's not like it would be a bad thing Tommy, they like each other already, maybe you just need to let them see it."

"I don't think they'll believe me Kim, I'm their teacher, not one of their friends," Tommy said as Austin swam back over and climbed up Tommy's side as Jessie splashed the both of them. "Okay, I think we need to go sit down."

"Daddy!" Austin whined as Tommy plopped him back down in the water and grabbed Kim's hand.

"We're too old for this, but you two can keep playing," Kim said as she squatted down and Austin folded his little arms in front of his chest in a full on pout. "Austin…you and Jessie play, we'll be right there."

"Okay," Austin resigned as Kim looked up at Tommy and the both of them walked over and pulled out a towel to sit down on.

"Do you think they're safe?" Tommy muttered as Kim nodded her head yes. She doubted that Mercer knew that the two of them had been assigned to destroy his projects, much less that they were married and had two kids.

"If he knew, he'd have come after us by now, we've had five days without our guard up at all," Kim whispered back as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"You're right," Tommy said as he saw Conner playing with Austin and Jessie. "He's a good kid."

"Yeah, he is," Kim said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Trini and Jason are coming up tomorrow," Tommy said as Kim looked back at him slightly confused.

"When were you going to tell me about this?" Kim asked as Tommy gave her a bashful look. "You forgot?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, what with trying to figure all of this out, I didn't remember it," Tommy said as Austin ran up to them with Jessie right behind him.

"Can we play with the ball?" Austin asked as Kim looked over at the teenagers and then back at the kids. She doubted that they would really want to play with a four year old and a seven year old.

"I'll play with them," Conner offered as Kim just shook her head.

"You came out here to be with your friends, I'm sure you'll get a chance some other time," Kim said as she forced herself to stand and grabbed each of their hands as she headed back towards the lake.

"Take a seat," Tommy said as he patted the towel and Conner sat down next to him. He had never thought that he would talk to his teacher like this, but Dr. O was not a normal teacher. "How has your summer been?"

"It's been all right," Conner said as Tommy smiled as the kids tackled Kim into the water. "Kira still ignores me like the plague."

"Have you tried being yourself around her?" Tommy asked as Conner looked over at him.

"Yeah, it's just that she always shoots me down before I even have a chance to really spend any time with her," Conner said as Tommy just shook his head. "What are you thinking?"

"That you need to stop flirting with her and just be yourself, maybe she'll finally see you for what you are," Tommy said as Conner looked over at him.

"How do I get the feeling that the two of you weren't anything like that?" Conner asked as Tommy laughed.

"It sounds corny, but it really was love at first sight, mind you we spent ten years trying to really figure it out once she broke up with me," Tommy said as Conner just looked at him.

"Why do I feel like there is more to that story?" Conner asked as Tommy let out a sigh.

"Because there is, but it something that I can't tell you about, not right now at least," Tommy said as Kim ran over to him and squatted down behind him. "Hide and seek?"

"Yeah," Kim said as Conner watched Austin and Jessie diligently count to 10 before looking around for Kimberly.

"Where's home base?" Tommy muttered as Kim shrugged her shoulders. The kids hadn't thought that far ahead when they had asked her to play hide and seek.

"Keep an eye on them and make sure they don't wander too far off," Kim murmured as they checked under tables and benches, behind trees and in the play area. Jessie then spotted hands on Tommy's shoulders and ran for him managing to leap on him and knock the both of them over.

"I found you!" Jessie exclaimed as Kim smiled as the sky turned straight to black.

"Austin!" Kim yelled as she felt Jessie clinging to her legs. She could barely see more than a foot in front of her and doubted that Tommy was doing much better.

"Mama!" Austin yelled as Kim started in his direction, but felt Tommy's hand stop her.

"Get Jessie to the car, I'll get him," Tommy said as Kim looked over at him. "Please, just do it."

"Okay," Kim said as she scooped Jessie up and ran for the car like so many other parents were doing.

"Austin!" Tommy yelled as the little boy came running towards him and threw his arms around Tommy's legs. "Come on, let's go."

"What's happening Daddy?" Austin asked as Tommy picked him up and Austin settled his arms around his neck.

"I don't know," Tommy lied as he ran for the jeep. The first tryannadrone hit the ground as he was about ten feet away from the relative safety of his vehicle. Austin's arms convulsed tightly around him and he slowly took a step backward. His eyes were adjusting to the newfound darkness, but the sight he saw did not make him feel any better. There were far too many tryannadrones here for him to take on, on his own.

"Daddy," Austin whimpered as he shook in Tommy's arms.

"It's all right, nothing is going to happen," Tommy whispered, calmly, as Austin continued to shake against him.

"Can we help?" Kira asked as she and Conner ran up to his side.

"Don't let anything touch him and head to my jeep as soon as you can," Tommy said as he passed Austin to Kira and quickly walked into the middle of the tryannadrones.

"No," Kim murmured as she saw what Tommy had done and she forced herself to stay seated in the front seat. She could see the teenagers working their way towards the jeep and she knew that the moment that they got there she was going to help Tommy it was all that she could do. "Come on."

"Where's Daddy?" Jessie asked as Kim just shook her head as Conner forced the door open before Kira and Austin dove in and he scrambled in behind them.

"Kira, Conner, watch after them," Kim said as she kissed each of her children on the forehead and then got out of the car.

"Mama!" Austin yelled as he tried desperately to reach her and she just closed the door and ran over to help Tommy.

"I've never been so happy to see you," Tommy muttered as she stood behind him and began throwing punches as well. "Hi-yah!"

"Well, well, well, I thought someone might challenge me, but never you," Mesogogg said as he landed and the tryannadrones took a few steps away to get out of Tommy and Kim's range, the both of them still very much on guard. "Dr. Oliver…how good it is to see you again."

"Anton?" Tommy asked, carefully, as the tryannadrones started stalking towards Kim, who had her back to Tommy and was gripping his hands tightly.

"Anton is long gone Tommy, I am Mesogogg now," Mesogogg said with a sort of motion that Tommy assumed meant he was supposed to impressed at the transformation, but he was not. "You could have done so much with your life."

"Ah…you think I would have joined you?" Tommy asked as he felt Kim kick out before releasing him and back-handspringing over to the monkey bars where she threw herself on top of them and kicked the tryannadrones as she circled around them.

"Of course," Mesogogg said as Tommy took a defensive stance and he suddenly realized how wrong he was.

"I never would have," Tommy said as he engaged in battle with Mesogogg and Mesogogg quickly decided that it was his time to go. He was going to have to be more prepared than he thought. "Kim!"

"I'm fine," Kim said as she dropped down to the ground and Tommy gave her a long hug as he scanned the park to see who might have seen them. "We need to get the kids home."

"Yeah and we need to find some rangers," Tommy said as he released her and they walked over to the jeep.

"Mama!" Jessie yelled as she jumped out of the front seat and ran to throw her arms around Kim.

"I'm fine sweetie," Kim said as she squatted down to give the girl a hug and Tommy watched as Kira and Conner stepped out of his jeep with Austin between them. He could tell that the both of them were thinking the same thing and it scared him. He knew what they were about to ask and he knew there was no denying it to them.

"I get the feeling we weren't supposed to see that," Kira said as Kim looked over at Tommy and then towards the teenagers. "So, how many people know that the two of you are rangers?"

"We're retired and here is not a smart place to talk about it," Tommy said as Kira and Conner looked at him. "If you can come by my house tomorrow, we'll explain it all and if you can bring a friend, I'd appreciate it."

"Why?" Conner asked as Kim just shook her head.

"We need a person for the third gem," Kim said as Jessie looked up at her and she just shook her head. "Now, if you will, we need to get them home and figure out some things that we thought we could put off."

"Okay," Conner said as Kim and Tommy loaded the kids into the car and then climbed in themselves.

"Why do I have a feeling that we just volunteered ourselves to become rangers?" Kira asked as Conner tried to hold in his laughter.

"That's because we did," Conner said as he placed his arm around her and they both walked back to the now abandoned lake, suddenly aware that they were in for a long hard road over the next several months.


	5. Chapter 5

"What happened?" Trini asked as she walked in and saw that Austin and Jessie were not moving any further than a few feet away from Kim as she answered the door. They had both latched themselves to Kim's side as soon as they got home yesterday and had had to be pulled away to go to sleep and Austin had still wound up in bed with them at about 3 this morning because of a nightmare. They understood that the kids were scared, but they were going to have to get over because this was only the beginning of what was to come.

"They saw an attack at the park yesterday," Kim said, as Trini just stared at her in horror. None of them had thought that the kids would have to be subjected to something like that, of all people, Kim and Tommy should have been able to keep it away from them. "We've got some kids coming and hopefully they'll bring along a friend that can be our third ranger, otherwise…"

"He wouldn't," Trini said as Kim just shook her head, knowing that Tommy would if it came down to it. They had to fill the gems and if there were not enough teenagers, he would take the third without a second thought. It was something that they didn't even have to discuss, it was just an unsaid truth between the two of them. "Have you talked to him about this?"

"There is no talking to him about this and I understand why, at that point it would be either him or me and he's not going to let me do that," Kim said as Trini just shook her head in disbelief. "Hopefully it won't come to that. Where are Jase and the kids?"

"They ran for the back yard as soon as they got out of car and he's running after them," Trini said as another car pulled into the drive, where Conner, Kira, and boy Kim didn't know stepped out. "Are they?"

"Yeah," Kim said as she squatted down to be at the kids' eye level. "Do you want to go outside and play with Kelli and Blake?"  
"No," Austin said as he clung to Kim's leg and she just shook her head.

"Tommy!" Kim yelled up the stairs as he appeared and jogged down. Trini could see the bags under his eyes and knew that he had probably only slept a couple of hours last night because of the work he had been doing. She figured that Kim had been worn out by the kids and had been able to sleep while he continued working.

"They here?" Tommy asked as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee.

"Yeah and I'm trying to convince them to go play with Kelli and Blake," Kim said as she picked up each leg, as both of the kids had settled there.

"Something will happen to you," Jessie said as Kim smiled down at her.

"Nothing is going to happen and if something does, that why he's here," Kim said motioning over to Tommy as they both just shook their heads no and Kim pried them away from her legs, in order to walk outside. "Hey guys!"

"Hey, how are they?" Conner asked as Austin and Jessie stood in the door but did not dare to move any further outside.

"Does that answer your question?" Kim asked as Conner nodded his head that it did and the other boy gave her a curious look. "I'm Kimberly Oliver and you are?"

"Ethan James," Tommy supplied as he managed to pass through the kids as he wiped off his hands. "I don't know how the two of you did it."

"It wasn't that bad, we just thought about what we would need to keep the two of us sane," Kira said as Conner wound his arm around her and Kim gave them a curious look. Maybe this was what the two of them needed to allow themselves to act as more than friends.

"Mama, come inside!" Jessie wailed as Kim turned around and glared. Tommy had been dealing with the basement and she had been dealing with the kids and at this very moment, she felt like strangling the both of them. She loved them, but she was starting to get tired of this, sadly they were going to have to learn that Mama and Daddy had a dangerous job to do.

"I got them," Trini said as she saw the raw rage in Kim's eyes and she quickly ushered the kids inside. She had had those moments with Kelli and Blake and she knew Kim was at the end of her rope.

"Can you get Jason to meet us in the kitchen?" Tommy asked as Trini nodded that she could as Austin still tried to run back to Kim, but stopped as Blake and Kelli ran in the back door with Jason right behind them.

"I'll watch the kids, help them," Trini said as Jason barely nodded. He had no idea what might have happened in the past twenty-four hours, but he was sure that it was something big by the way that Trini was talking.

"What's going on?" Jason asked as he walked over to Kim and Tommy as the latter tried to calm Kim down. She was on the end of her rope in many ways and they had only known about being ranger mentors for about a week.

"The kids are scared to death because they saw a battle and now they won't leave me. We have to get them bonded with some gems and trained, as soon as we can," Kim explained as she pushed Tommy's arm away from her and he just shook his head. He couldn't blame her for the bad mood she was in because he felt it as well, he was just too tired to honestly care.

"Tommy, go to bed," Jason said as Tommy just shook his head. "You're hands are shaking so bad you can barely hold that cup, go get some sleep. Me and Kim will take care of these guys and come wake you in a couple of hours."

"It's been a long time since I've seen him that tired," Kim said as Jason put his arm around her and he then popped the hatch in the kitchen and ushered the kids down the stairs before Kim followed him.

"He's got a lot on his shoulders Kim and let's face it, we're not as young as we used to be," Jason said as the kids stared around the room in awe as Kim and Jason continued their conversation about Tommy's health.

"What is this?" Ethan asked as Kira and Conner exchanged a glance. They hadn't told him everything that they thought was going to happen, he wouldn't believe them if they did that, no one would.

"A Command Center," Kim said as Ethan stared over at the woman. "Guys…you didn't fill him in?"

"No one would believe us if we told them the truth," Kira said as Kim just shook her head.

"Take a seat while I explain," Kim said as the three of them sat down and Kim walked over to the computer and began flicking through files with names like 'turbo', 'dino', 'new', and lastly 'history'. "Ethan, I'll give you the same offer that I'm going to give them, you can leave right now if you think this will be too much for you. Tommy and I can't afford for the people that are working with us to back out at the last minute, we need you to be full time rangers, not part time."

"Rangers?" Ethan asked as Kim nodded her head. "As in Power Rangers?"

"No, forest rangers," Kim said with the utmost seriousness and she saw Ethan relax slightly.

"She's being sarcastic," Kira said as Ethan looked between Kim and Kira.

"There's no way that the Power Rangers even exist, no one person could contain that much power without harming themselves," Ethan said as Kim just shook her head that that was not true.

"I'm going to let you watch this, while I go help Trini with the kids, if you have any questions, ask Jason," Kim said and then turned to face Jason. "Come get me when they've decided so that I can wake Tommy, I'm sure that he'll have something to say to them."

"That's fine," Jason said as the video began and he closed his eyes to try to block it out. They had all been rangers long enough to know the sounds of a battle, morph, or unexpected appearance by heart. He understood why Kim couldn't stay down here and he knew that there was nothing he could do to change how she felt. She wanted to stay away from the ranger world, but here it was again, pulling her right back into the center of it.


	6. Chapter 6

"You have got to be kidding me," Kira said, as she was the first to regain her ability to speak. "Those people are all rangers?"

"Yeah," Jason said as Conner just shook his head. "Let me go get Kim and Tommy, you are really their responsibility, not mine."

"And they'll answer our questions?" Conner asked as Jason nodded his head that they would. He was sure that the both of them were just glad that none of them had run from the room during the video.

"Tri, where are they?" Jason asked as he walked into the kitchen and saw four of the five kids settled around the table and the fifth was in his wife's arms.

"I sent Kim to bed too, she's exhausted Jase, Tommy just wasn't able to hold up as good of a front as her," Trini said as Jason nodded and then decided to go upstairs and wake them himself. He doubted that sending any of the kids would do much, except annoy them even more.

"Tommy, wake up," Jason said as he shook the man's shoulder and Tommy merely rolled over and pulled his wife closer. Knowing that it was going to be nearly impossible to wake Tommy, Jason moved over to Kimberly and gently shook her shoulder as well. "Hey, Kim."

"What's going on?" Kim murmured as Jason smiled down at her and she looked over at Tommy and gave him a rough shake. "The kids are done with the video Tommy, we have to go talk to them."

"How did you know that?" Jason asked as Tommy just shook his head.

"The mother sixth sense thing," Tommy said as Jason barely nodded his head. Trini had the same thing, but it was only with the kids. "Don't ask how this goes into that area, but that's what it is."

"You both look like crap," Jason commented as Tommy just shook his head as he reached down to stretch out his back, which was killing him at the moment. He had been hauling around stuff for the past few hours and it was starting to hit him that he was not eighteen anymore.

"Thanks a lot," Tommy said as Kim walked over to him and gently rubbed his back. "If you keep doing that, I'll have to crawl back into bed and go to sleep."

"Let's get this over with so that you can get back to sleep," Kim said as he looked up at her and then forced himself to stand up straight. "They are good kids Tommy, neither of us will have to suit up again."

"I hope you're right," Tommy said as he wrapped his arm around her and she settled her head on his shoulder.

"Mama!" Austin yelled as he ran up to her and she bent to pick him up, only to feel her back catch, which almost caused her to drop him.

"Take him, Tommy," Kim whispered as he looked over at her with concern. He had never seen her in this kind of pain before. "My body isn't used to the fighting anymore."

"No, I want to stay with you!" Austin yelled as Tommy reached and pulled him over to himself as Kim just collapsed onto the bottom stair. "Mama!"

"Mama is fine," Tommy said as Kim hid her face as she felt Jason checking her vertebrate to insure that she had not done some serious damage to herself. The occupation of physical therapist was very helpful at a time like this when people were going to have some injures.

"I think you just strained the muscles, but you don't need to be standing or really sitting either. I'll take you back up and Austin you can come with me if you want," Jason said as Tommy looked over at him and Jason barely shook his head not to ask. He'd explain what Tommy needed to do later, there were the new rangers and there were also the children to consider. They did not need to see the treatments that would probably help Kim.

"Hey guys," Tommy said as he walked into the rangers and the three teens looked over at him.

"What's going on here?" Conner asked as Tommy took a seat in front of them. He was going to have to be much more honest with them than he had ever been over the past two years.

"My wife and I have been contracted to deal with this being, but at our age it's dangerous for us to take the powers. Plus, we've got two kids to worry about as well. Trust me when I say I know what it is like to not want the responsibility, to be able to turn the other cheek and hand the powers off to someone else. If you still want that, you can take it and nothing will happen to you, if you choose the powers, you will have them until either they fail you or you are forced to give them up," Tommy said as Conner and Kira exchanged a glance. They had not thought that he was going to just come out and say it. They had thought that it was going to be a long, tedious process to pull the information needed out of him.

"Are you okay Dr. O?" Kira asked as Tommy shook his head that he indeed was not okay. "What's wrong?"

"The fact that I am even being asked to be a ranger is wrong, they know more about my wife and myself than I wished for anyone to know about us. I'm not the kind of person to just let facts like that get away from me. After this the two of us will have to deal with the government's knowledge of us, but if they think that we are two of the three rangers they see out there…"Tommy trailed off as Conner and Kira barely nodded. They understood what he was saying. They understood that he was putting them in more danger, but if people thought them to be Tommy and Kimberly, their own identity would be safe.

"So we have to learn to fight like you?" Kira asked as Jason slipped back down the stairs and walked over to Tommy. He could vaguely remember another time when this had happened to Kim and the news that she had gotten next had sent her to tears. With Tommy, he doubted that would happen, but you never know how someone will react.

"If you can," Tommy said as Jason laughed. He knew it was going to be nearly impossible to learn the way that Kim and Tommy fought, especially together. They could feed off of each other in a way that made many evil beings believe in a bonded relationship. "How is she?"

"Laying down, I think you should call Rocky and get him up here to straighten it out, because I'm not going to do any good," Jason said as Tommy sighed. Rocky was a chiropractor, Zack was their orthopedic specialist and to round it out Aisha was an OB. Most of their problems could be handled through friends and that was something Tommy had never been more thankful for over the last few years as he had had some injuries that would have taken a great deal of explaining to make them understand.

"All right," Tommy said as he stood and looked at the kids. "Are you in or are you out?"

"I'm in," Conner said.

"So am I," Kira said.

"I guess I'll do it," Ethan said with a smile as Tommy let out a sigh.

"Training?" Jason asked as Tommy looked over at him. At the moment he wanted to go check on his wife, but he knew that he needed to help these kids, otherwise the battles were going to continue and the kids would be no more prepared than they were right now. "Do you want me to handle it?"

"No, if they are going to have to fight like me, they might as well fight with me," Tommy said as Jason nodded as the kids looked at each other and watched as their teacher pulled off his t-shirt and then kicked off his shoes before pulling off his socks. Kira could not help as her eyes trailed over his abs and then looked up in shock. It was one thing to see your teacher in a bathing suit, it was another when he stripped down in front of you. "What the hell did I do to deserve this?"


	7. Chapter 7

"How are you feeling?" Tommy asked as he walked into their bedroom with the kids in tow. Both Jessie and Austin wanted to see her and he could see no reason not to let them.

"Mama!" Jessie yelled as Kim looked up at Tommy and then forced a smile. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, my back just hurts," Kim said as they both climbed into bed with her and Tommy smiled. "Have you called Rocky?"

"Yeah, he said he cleared out tomorrow to get you straightened out," Tommy said as Kim smiled and he crawled in on her other side. "Come on guys, say good night to Mama."

"Night Mama," they chorused as she gave each of them a squeeze and watched as Tommy ushered them off to bed. She knew she had to tell him about the last time this had happened, but she didn't wish to. It was too soon for that to be happening.

"Hey," Tommy whispered as he crawled in next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "What's wrong?"

"I think I'm pregnant," Kim muttered as he looked over at her and saw the tears in her eyes. "Tommy…we just got married and…"

"Whoa, how long have you been thinking about this?" Tommy asked as he attempted to wrap his mind around the idea. Sure it was a little bit sudden, but he would not mind being a father, not if Kimberly was the woman carrying his child. "Baby, it's all right if you are."

"No, it's not, I'm pregnant, we have a ranger team to mentor and the kids are just now getting used to things," Kim said as he just shook his head.

"Look at me, we'll be fine. You haven't even taken a test, how about you do that before we start worrying about it?" Tommy suggested as she just shook her head.

"This happened before when I was pregnant with Austin," Kim said as he stared at her. "I'm sure that I am Tommy."

"Are you alright with it?" Tommy asked, barely about to contain his excitement. He was going to be a father! She was carrying his child and he could not be more happy, but if she wasn't he was going to have to find a way to make it.

"I knew you'd be happy," Kim whispered as he reached over and gave her a kiss. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Name it," Tommy said as she smiled.

"I need to take a test, Tommy," Kim said as he simply nodded his head and then picked her up to carry her to the bathroom. After one scare when she first moved in, they did not want to chance having to go to the obstetrician again. So they kept a couple of tests on hand, just in case. "Shoo!"

"It's not like I haven't seen you before," Tommy said as Kim glared at him. She wanted to be able to tell him, not let him look at the test and know. "Okay, yell when you're done."

With Jessie and Austin, she had been slightly apprehensive to find out. After Jeremy had started acting the way that he did, she had not been thrilled that she was expecting. She loved her kids, but hated their father, although with any luck the adoption would go through without a hitch and they would have the father that they deserved.

As she stared at the test she held in her head, she wondered what this child's life would be like. He or she would never have to fear their father, never have that sort of worry. She didn't noticed that Tommy had opened the door and was staring over at her, waiting for her to give him some sort of answer.

"Hey," Tommy said as she looked up at him as the tears flowed down her cheeks. "What are you thinking?"

"How lucky this child will be to only know you as a father," Kim said as he raised his eyebrows. She still had not said if she was pregnant or not. "I am Tommy."

"You can't know how happy this makes me," Tommy whispered as he picked her up and she laughed.

"It cannot make you any happier than it makes me," Kim whispered as he kissed her before carrying her back to bed. "Make love to me."

"Kim, your back…" Tommy started as she looked up at him.

"No, make love to me," Kim whispered as he laid her down and then went over and locked the door to their room. "Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?" Tommy asked as he laid down next to her, still skeptical that he would actually do what she was asking.

"Because you are the first one to care about this, to actually want me to have the child, God I wish they were yours," Kim said as she hands moved around to the hem of her shirt.

"So do I, relax baby," Tommy whispered as she smiled up at him. Everything was different with Tommy, from the way he said her name, to the way that he knew just the right places to touch.

The years apart had done nothing to dim the fire that was between the two of them and with every day there was something new to experience between the two of them. They had both spent years trying to find what completed them, when it had been in front of them all along, they had just been too stubborn to admit it.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey Kim, how are you today?" Rocky asked as he walked into their room and saw her propped up on a pillow.

"I'm okay Rocky, just pregnant with a strained back," Kim said as Rocky's jaw dropped and she just shook her head. "What? You can't think that Tommy and I waited until our wedding night."

"No, I just didn't think that you were planning for children so soon after everything with Jeremy," Rocky said as Kim rolled over and he just stared. "Um, I've never really done this to someone that is pregnant."

"It's what they did to straighten me out when I was pregnant with Austin, I'm sure you won't have a single problem with this. There is nothing that you can do to make it any worse," Kim said as Rocky just shook his head and then began feeling around for the sensitive areas. "There Rocky."

"Is this what hurt last time?" Rocky asked as he became moving her body around to where she needed to be so that he could do his job. "Kim?"

"Yeah, pretty close. What was Tommy doing when you came in?" Kim asked as Rocky scratched the back of his head and looked away from her. "Rocky, tell me what it is."

"He's working with the rangers and has got Austin and Jessie doing a little mini karate clinic themselves," Rocky said as Kim sighed and then just shook her head. "You know that he'll take every chance that he can to get those kids into karate."

"It's fine, after Jeremy they need someone that is a father," Kim said as he popped her back and she let out a groan of pain.

"You're a right piece of work," Rocky said as he just shook his head. He knew that he was going to cause her more pain just to get the pain to stop. He wanted her to go to the doctor, but he doubted that she would do that. His feeling about it was that it was an old gymnastics injury that had gone unattended, but unless she had to do back handsprings sometimes soon, she'd be all right.

* * *

"Again," Tommy said as he held up his hands and Kira looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "Kira, they aren't going to give you a break, especially if they think that you are Kimberly."

"Why does it matter if I can't fight exactly like her?" Kira asked as she found herself on the ground again.

"Because if they think you are her, they'll expect more than this and this will be a dead giveaway that we have other rangers," Tommy said as Kira looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Kim couldn't have been that good back in the day," Kira said as Tommy just shook his head as Conner and Ethan finally stood up from their workout.

"She was one of the best female rangers we ever had," Rocky said as he walked up behind them and Kira jumped around to face him. She did not know who the man was or why he knew about them being rangers. "And you're going to have a hell of a job to act as if you are her. I won't even begin on the shoes you'll have to fill Conner."

"He actually has a decent amount of ability. I should be able to get him to look like me fairly quickly, but tumbling is something you can't fake," Tommy said as Kira looked over at him. "You agreed to take on Kim's shoes, you didn't ask me what those shoes might be."

"Daddy look at me!" Austin yelled as Tommy looked over to see the little boy doing kicks that made him smile. His entire job today was to keep the kids out of Kim's hair, tomorrow they would go to the doctor, just to make sure they were right about the baby. Then they had the job of telling the other kids and they didn't quite know how they would take that yet.

"Good job buddy," Tommy said as Austin smiled over at him and then continued his kicking. "How is she?"

"Still in pain Tommy and I think that you should get her back checked out as soon as you can, because this is more serious than you think. She's had some injury in the past that was never treated and I think that when she's pregnant it's especially susceptible," Rocky said as the rangers looked over at them. "Sorry, no one knows?"

"Not yet, we haven't confirmed it with a doctor," Tommy said as the kids looked at them in shock.

"What's pregnant Daddy?" Jessie asked as Tommy covered his face with his hands and looked over at Rocky for help.

"We'll talk about it later," Tommy said as Jessie nodded and then went back to play karate as well. "You really think it's that bad?"

"Yeah, I do, it's a type of injury that is repetitive and her muscles must not be able to take the stress during these times. With Jessie she had no kid to jump up and have to pick her up, she did with Austin and she does now," Rocky said as Tommy nodded and then shook his head. "You want me to work with them and you go talk to her?"

"No, I'll talk to her tonight, if you don't mind working with Conner and Ethan for awhile, I'd appreciate it. I've got to teach Kira some other skills," Tommy said as Kira looked over at him and just shook her head. "I know you're tired, but I want to get you started on back handsprings."

"I've never done gymnastics before," Kira shrieked as Rocky looked back at her.

"I think that you'll be able to do it Kira, especially with the powers, but those are last line defenses. You fight without the powers first," Tommy said as Kira just placed her head in her hands. She had certainly bitten off much more than she could chew. "Come here."

"There's no way that I can do this, I'm just not up to it," Kira said as Tommy led her away from the group and then sat down on a log and patted the space next to him. "I can't replace her."

"Kira, I know that it's not something you want to do, but you're going to have to try and you'll have the original to pester with questions," Tommy said as Kira looked over at him and wiped her eyes. "She is pregnant, we just haven't told the kids yet."

"So, no being able to watch her work?" Kira asked as Tommy nodded his head yes. "Do you have videos?"

"Yeah, I have plenty of material for you to look at if you think that'll help, but right now, you just need to trust me and work with me," Tommy said as Kira nodded and then forced herself to stand. "You'll be fine Kira, but we need to work and you're going to have to trust me."

"I do, it's just weird to think that I have such big shoes to fill," Kira said as Tommy put his arm around the younger girl and she looked up at him.

"Conner has even bigger shoes, you just have to be his back up, it'll be fine," Tommy said as Kira nodded. She knew that she had to trust him and could only hope that he wouldn't lead her wrong, otherwise she didn't think she would be able to be up to their standards and that was something she must do.


	9. Chapter 9

A week later, Kim was back to normal and the rangers were starting to pick up their duties. They had visited her doctor to confirm the pregnancy, but had yet to tell Jessie and Austin, neither of them were quite sure how the two of them would take it at the moment. They were getting used to them being married and the rangers, but they knew that they couldn't keep it a secret much longer. The doctor had told them that she was ten weeks along and with Jessie and Austin she had started showing around week fourteen. They knew that they couldn't keep it a secret from the kids much longer, which was why they decided to have the discussion on Saturday afternoon, hoping that it would give Jessie and Austin time to adjust to the idea before they went back to school and daycare.

"Austin, can you come in here with us?" Kim asked as Austin looked up from his coloring book and barely nodded his head before gathering the book and some crayons. He remembered having a talk like this before Mommy and Daddy's wedding, so he wondered what they were talking about now. The only time that they sat them down like this, things had changed a lot. He didn't like change.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Jessie asked as she had caught Kimberly throwing up this morning while Tommy was trying to dig up some crackers for her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but we have some news for you," Kim said as Jessie and Austin focused on her as she looked over at Tommy. It had been easier the last time, Jessie was barely old enough to understand it, but right now the both of them were likely to understand it. "We're going to have a baby."

"A baby?" Austin asked as Kim nodded her head and Jessie squealed. She was happy that there would be a baby around and that her mom was not really sick, it was just the baby.

"You'll have a little brother or a little sister Austin," Tommy said as he nodded and then gave Kim a thorough look.

"I don't want another sister," Austin stated as Tommy fought to keep his expression straight. He had expected this out of the little boy, but he didn't want to tell Kim that.

"We won't have much of a choice about what the baby is Austin," Kim said as Austin gave her a harsh look. He did not believe that they could not choose what the baby was, it should be simple enough.

"I still don't want another sister," Austin said as Kim nodded and Tommy lifted him up on his lap. "Daddy, we don't need more girls."

"I know buddy, but I'll be happy for a boy or a girl," Tommy said as Austin just shook his head. His dad had been brainwashed by his mom, he was absolutely sure of it.

"When are we going to fix the nursery?" Jessie asked excitedly as she squished herself between Tommy and Kim.

"We've still got several months to go Jessie," Kim said as Jessie nodded. "I'll get really big again and you'll be able to feel the baby kick like before."

"Oh, that was fun," Jessie said as Kim smiled down at her as Tommy wrapped his arm around Kim. Today had been the first day that she had really been sick and she told him that it hadn't been bad with the other two until her second trimester and then it calmed down at the beginning of the third. She was getting close and if the doctor was a couple of weeks off, then it was right on time.

"When does the baby start kicking?" Austin asked as Kim reached over and pulled him into her lap.

"When you can see my belly, right now the baby isn't very big," Kim said as Austin reached for the hem of her shirt and ran his hands over her stomach, trying to feel something. "My belly will start getting bigger in a couple weeks."

"How big will it be?" Austin asked as he looked up at her, disappointed that nothing had changed already.

"I don't know, I was bigger with Jessie than I was with you," Kim said as Austin gave her a confused look.

"I was inside of you?" Austin asked as Kim nodded her head yes. "When?"

"When we lived in Maryland," Kim said as Austin nodded. He didn't like talking about Maryland and neither did Jessie. Kim tried not to bring it up, but sometimes it had to be done, as was the case at the moment. "Tommy, can you get me some sprite?"

"Yeah," Tommy said as he stood up and walked to the kitchen to grab the requested beverage. He could tell that she was starting to feel sick again and he only hoped that it would calm down with the drink alone.

"Are you gonna be sick a lot Mama?" Jessie asked as Kim nodded her head yes and Austin yanked his head up to look at her.

"Why are you gonna be sick?" Austin asked as Tommy passed Kim the cup and she gave him a thankful smile.

"Sometimes mommies get sick when they are going to have a baby," Kim said as Austin looked over at Tommy with a glare that he had never seen before. "Austin, is something wrong?"

"Did Daddy do this to you?" Austin asked as Kim laughed as she pulled him into a hug.

"No, he didn't, it's the baby and I'll be better soon enough, I promise," Kim said as Austin looked up at her and then over at Tommy again.

"Okay," Austin said as he jumped down from her lap and then ran into the other room to get back to his coloring, as Jessie walked behind him to start to work on something of her own.

"They seemed to take that well," Tommy said as Kim nodded. She was feeling worse than she was letting on and did not resist when Tommy's arm wrapped around her to sink into him. "You want to go take a nap?"

"No, it won't really help, for the next few months I'll be like this," Kim said as he barely nodded. He could hear Jessie and Austin in the other room and wasn't worried about what they were up to, at the moment. When they got quiet, he would worry about what was going on with them. "You ready for this?"

"Does it really matter if I am Kim? The baby will be here either way," Tommy said as she glared up at him, obviously that had been the wrong answer. "I've wanted you to have my kids for as long as I can remember wanting kids, I'm as ready as I can be."

"Yeah, um…there's some classes that you probably need to take," Kim said as he looked over at her. "Well, unless you think you can handle my yelling without something to warn you of what it'll be like, then you don't have to take the classes."

"That bad?" Tommy asked as Kim nodded her head yes. She would more than willingly to admit how bad it had been with the other two and she could only hope that this baby was smaller, but she doubted it. Tommy was a good three inches taller than Jeremy and was about the same build, she did not see this being a small baby.

"Maybe this baby will be nicer to me," Kim said as Tommy gave her a confused look. "Jessie weighed close to eight pounds and Austin was about seven and a half. I don't know where to compare with this baby, you're genetics are different."

"Thanks for reminding me of that," Tommy said as Kim smiled and just draped her arm around him.

"You know that if I could go back and change who their father was, I would, but I can't. So, you are just going to have to do for the rest of their lives," Kim said as she gave him a quick kiss and then pushed herself up off the couch. "I better go get in some playtime with them, in a couple of months I won't be able to crawl around on the floor."

"I've got to go up to the dojo," Tommy said, reluctantly, as she nodded and then gave him a quick hug.

"Call when you're on your way back and I'll have supper ready," Kim said as Tommy nodded and then headed out the front door as Kim went to the playroom with the kids. Although they were dealing with rangers again, it was nothing like it had been in the past. They weren't the rangers this time.


	10. Chapter 10

"Mama! Daddy's home!" Austin yelled from the front door as Kim looked up from the stove and nodded over at him. "Can I get the door?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Kim said as she saw Tommy's car outside and knew he would be at the door soon enough. "Jess, you okay?"

"Yeah," Jessie said as Kim barely nodded. It was not like Jessie to be as quiet as she was at the moment and that had Kim worried. "Mama, why do people come after Daddy?"

"It's hard to explain Jessie," Kim said as she heard her boys laughing in the hallway. It didn't seem to matter how long Tommy had been away, he always greeted the kids the same way a big hug and usually a tickle.

"Daddy!" Jessie yelled upon hearing the other two and then ran off, forgetting the worry that she had had only seconds before. Kim wished that she could have the memory of a child, but she was unable to forget things just because Tommy came home. She knew all too well that there could be a day when he didn't and that scared her more than anything in the world.

"Hey, pumpkin," Tommy said as he scooped her up in his other arm and then walked into the kitchen with the both of them. "It smells good Kim."

"Thanks," Kim muttered as he looked over at her and saw the worry in her eyes as he dropped each of the kids into a seat. Something was bothering her and he was not sure what that could be.

"You okay?" Tommy asked as he gave her a hug and she shook her head no. "You wanna talk later?"

"Yeah," Kim whispered as he released her and then went back to the kids. He knew that whatever it was, she was not going to tell him in front of the kids. It would wait until tonight when they were alone in bed.

"Daddy, you want to see the picture I've colored?" Austin asked as he bounced up and down in his seat.

"How about after supper? I'm kinda hungry," Tommy said as Austin gave him a sharp look. "I promise that I'll look at it Austin, but Mama's worked so hard to get all of this ready, we should eat it while it's still hot."

"Okay," Austin said as he sulked, but only for a moment, as Kim placed his plate in front of him and he then grabbed his fork and knife. No one would ever say that he was a picky eater.

* * *

"You going to tell me what was bothering you earlier?" Tommy asked as Kim looked over at him and he pulled her in close. Her eyes always gave her away and at the moment, she looked more scared than he had seen her look in the last year.

"Something Jess asked," Kim said as she took in a deep breath. She did not want to tell him this, she didn't want to speak what she was sure might happen to him. "She asked why people always come after you. I don't really have an answer for that one, no matter how much I think about it."

"Kim, don't. All it will do is make things harder on you and right now, you don't need that. Are you sure that's it?" Tommy asked as she placed her head on his chest and just held onto him.

"I worry that you won't come back one day," Kim said as Tommy stared at her. How in the world could she possibly think about that right now? Why? It didn't make any sense to him that she would even have to think this way anymore. "Tommy, you know the chances of you getting captured are far greater than the teenagers. He knows you Tommy, he knows what you can do. I just don't feel good about this."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but right now don't think about it. I don't like the sound of it myself, but there is nothing that we can do to change this. We have to face him or chance that we'll all be revealed," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head.

"It would almost be better if they just revealed us and didn't hang the information over our heads. Then we'd finally be free of all of this," Kim said as he wiped the tears away and she tried to calm herself back down. "Damn hormones."

"You're not that bad," Tommy said with a smile as she just shook her head. He had yet to experience one of her mood swings and she doubted he would think that it was 'not that bad' after that. "What?"

"I have mood swings from hell Tommy, even Jeremy didn't dare cross me when I went on a tirade while I was pregnant," Kim said as Tommy smiled. "What?"

"I don't plan on provoking you Kim," Tommy said as her face softened and she gave him a chaste kiss. "How is your schedule tomorrow?"

"Not too bad, I'm only going to be in court until mid afternoon at the latest. Then I'll pick up Austin and head to the dojo," Kim said as Tommy nodded.

"I don't know why I've never asked this, but why didn't you handle your own divorce?" Tommy asked as Kim looked away from him. She had thought that question might come up one day.

"I hadn't practiced in years and I didn't really plan on it either, but it's different here. They actually seem to give a damn about what they're doing," Kim said as Tommy nodded and shifted himself into a more comfortable position with his arm draped across her abdomen. He gently ran his hand up and down, not thinking about it or even really trying to feel anything but her presence. "You think you're going to feel something?"

"No, it just always calms me to do this," Tommy said, without stopping as Kim hesitantly reached for his hand and ran it over the tiny bump that she had found this morning. "Oh."

"Yeah, a couple weeks and people will be able to tell I'm pregnant. You know we still need to really tell the others," Kim said as Tommy nodded. He had known that for awhile, but he didn't really want to think about it. There was no telling how they would react to the news.

"I know," Tommy said as her arms settled around him. "So that's why you coached in Maryland?"

"Yeah and it had better hours for the kids. I could take care of them during the day and in the afternoon take them with me to the gym. He never liked going there," Kim said as Tommy nodded, knowing that if that gym was like most others, they would not tolerate the belittling of a coach on the gym floor. "We better get some sleep."

"Is that a hint that you're tired?" Tommy asked as Kim nodded her head yes and he reached over and squeezed her hand. "Sleep, I've got some stuff I have to do before I can."

"Tommy," Kim groaned as he just shook his head that it would do her no good to beg. "Fine, I'll see you in the morning."

"I wish that I didn't have to do this," Tommy said as he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead as she jerked away from him. It was going to be a long nine months after all.


	11. Chapter 11

"You look like you've had a bad night," Conner said as Tommy walked into his first class of the day and gave the boy a look that clearly said to not press the issue. "The couch treating you nicely?"

"Yes, the couch has been just fine," Tommy muttered as Conner stared over at him. "Kim has been in a bad mood for the last several days. For my own safety, I'm sleeping on the couch."

"Why is she in such a bad mood?" Conner asked as Tommy looked over at him and he saw that he clearly did not want to hear this. "That bad?"

"It's just her ex. The time has come up and he can have a retrial for parental rights of custody. We were sure that he was going to sign the adoption papers and now…" Tommy trailed off as he took a seat behind his desk and looked around at the empty classroom. "Where is everybody?"

"Decided to skip today. The only reason that I am here is the game this afternoon. I can't miss school and be able to play," Conner said as Tommy nodded and Conner then sat down in one of the front row desks. "Do you think it's going to get ugly?"

"Yeah, Kim is going to handle the trial this time and if I know one thing about her, she's pissed that he is pulling this now. He has a new lawyer, the old one won't touch him after what he saw in Maryland," Tommy said as Conner barely nodded. "Even Ethan and Kira skipped?"

"Kira is actually sick, Ethan should be around here somewhere. Most of the teachers aren't sure what to do when there aren't any kids in class," Conner said as Tommy nodded with a smile. He could think of some things that he would rather be doing right now, but he knew that it wouldn't happen. "How's everything going with the baby?"

"She's been sick every morning for the past week, this is just one more thing on her plate that she doesn't need. I've heard that she's scary when she has a bad mood swing," Tommy said as Conner chuckled. "You laugh now, but I can promise that those stories have something behind them. She's generally someone that most people can get along with. According to Jason, I don't want to cross her if she gets on the warpath for the next few months."

"She's your wife, I don't think that she would do anything to you," Conner said as Tommy gave him a hard look, wondering what the boy really knew about their relationship. "What's that look for?"

"You don't know Kim," Tommy said as Conner went silent and Tommy began grading papers. If he was going to have a half day off, then he might as well be able to get some work done in his empty classes.

* * *

"Tommy, if you could call me when you get this, I would really appreciate it, I love you and remember to pick up the kids," Kim's voice said as Tommy walked over to his car and just shook his head. Whatever had happened today was probably not good for her to be calling him and leave that message. Sure, other people would think that it was loving and it was, but he knew that she was mad and he didn't know about what.

"Hey, can I please speak to Kimberly?" Tommy asked as the receptionist picked up and he hopped in his jeep. He hoped that quick phone call and soothing words would be enough to calm her. He had other things he needed to do today.

"Mrs. Oliver is not in," the receptionist said as Tommy gave his phone an odd look.

"It's Tommy, is she in?" Tommy asked as she hung up the phone and he immediately dialed the number back. "I want to speak with my wife."

"Nice try buddy," the receptionist said, as she hung up again and Tommy just shook his head. He then made the right turn towards the elementary school where he picked Jessie up and then headed down the road to the daycare that Austin was in.

"Daddy! Guess what we did!" Austin yelled as Tommy bent over to pick him up.

"What did you do?" Tommy asked as Austin held up the picture for him that he had drawn and Tommy could not help but smile. He knew that it was a picture of their family and Kim now had a significantly rounder stomach, which was still not the case in real life. "Mama's going to love that."

"Daddy…is Mama going to be home tonight?" Austin asked as Tommy cringed. Kimberly had not gotten home until late last night and he had had to put the kids to bed on his own, not that they were a problem, but they missed Kim when she wasn't there.

"I don't know…we're going to go see Mama at work since Mama's receptionist won't let Daddy talk to her," Tommy said with a smile as Austin and Jessie exchanged a glance. They both could tell that he was mad with whatever the 'receptonist' had done.

"Mr. Oliver, it's so good to see you," Shannon said as Tommy walked into the office and leveled a glare on the woman. "Something wrong?"

"Why wouldn't you put me through to Kim?" Tommy asked as Shannon stared at him with wide eyes.

"I'm so sorry, it was just that a man called earlier today that said he was her husband, she about killed me for letting that call through," Shannon said as Tommy nodded and then looked back at the kids.

"Can you watch them for a little while?" Tommy asked as Shannon nodded her head yes and he went on back to Kim's office. "Kim?"

"Tommy…" Kim breathed as she walked over to him and gave him a strong hug. "Why are you here?"

"Shannon wouldn't let me talk to you…so I came by," Tommy said as Kim nodded and then walked back over to her desk. "The kids missed you last night, Kim."

"I know and I feel bad enough that I did that, but I don't exactly have a choice here Tommy. The trial starts next week and this judge wants to talk to the kids, I'm not sure how to handle this," Kim said as she pulled at her hair and Tommy gently reached over and grabbed one of her hands.

"Look at me," Tommy said, calmly, as she looked up and he gave her a smile. "Finish up here and I'll have supper ready for you when you get home. The kids need to see you, Kim and I know that you're busy, but just bring some of it home. You can spend some time with them that way."

"Okay, I'll be home around five thirty," Kim said as he leaned across the desk and gave her a quick kiss.

"I'll see you then. Call if something changes," Tommy said as she nodded and then leaned back in her chair, trying to slow down her racing pulse as Tommy walked out of the room. She didn't know how he did this to her, but he did every single time and it was something that she would never tire of.


	12. Chapter 12

"Where's Mama?" Austin asked as Tommy set the table and looked over at the clock, which now read six. He was sure that she would have called if she was going to be late or if something had happened, but obviously she hadn't even thought about it. The kids needed her here, just as much as he did.

"I'm sure she'll be home in a little bit," Tommy lied as he quietly walked upstairs into their bedroom and called her cell phone.

"Hey! This is Kimberly Oliver, leave a message and I'll get back with you!" Kim's voice said as Tommy hung up and let out a sigh. He did not want to have a repeat of last night, as he was sure that the kids would be horrible without Kim there for a second night in a row. He knew that it was always in the back of their mind that Kim would leave them the way that their father did and he did not want to see that fear in them.

"Tommy!" Kim called up the stairs as she put down some groceries on the table and gave hugs to both of the kids. "Tommy!"

"I'll be down in a minute," Tommy said as he let out a sigh of relief. He knew that he shouldn't worry about her like this, she could take care of herself, but with another ranger team in their midst, he couldn't help but worry more. It would not take much for either of them to show up missing nowadays.

"Hey, how was your day?" Kim asked as he walked back down the stairs, still in his school day attire.

"Not bad," Tommy said as he looked at the bags and then over at Kim. "Did you think I'd forget to get groceries?"

"No…it's not that, I just noticed we needed some things this morning, so I grabbed them on the way," Kim said as Tommy nodded and they both then sat down to dinner. Austin and Jessica gladly jibber, jabbered without a problem, but Kim could tell something was bothering Tommy. He talked with the kids and with her when necessary, but it almost seemed as if he was not there with them and that was so unlike him. He always participated in the dinner conversation, especially with her.

* * *

"Tommy, is something wrong?" Kim asked as she had finished tucking the kids in and was now in the bathroom, slipping out of her work attire and into a nightgown. After supper she had gone into the office and worked on some more paperwork, but she had stopped in time to help with their baths and getting them to bed.

"It's just been a day Kim," Tommy said as he looked over at her and noticed the distinctively rounder pouch of her lower abdomen. He, however, did not want to fight with her tonight, he just wanted to sleep. He wanted to be able to forget everything that he was feeling at the moment and just hold her in his arms.

"No, something is wrong," Kim said as she walked back out and then slipped into bed and waited for him to join her, but he just sat down in the chair next to his side. If she really wanted to talk about this, then he was going to, but he was not stupid enough to lay down in the bed next to her. That might very well shave a few years off his life. "Tommy…"

"I've missed you these last couple of days," Tommy said as he looked down at his hands and she gave him an odd sort of look. He had seen her much more than the kids had and yet he was the one sulking about not getting enough of her attention.

"You've seen me more than the kids, Tommy," Kim pointed out as he looked up at her and let out a sigh. He had been afraid that she would take offense to that, especially after he had insisted that she come home tonight, but that was more for himself than the kids. They understood that she was working on something important, but he didn't think that he could go to bed one more night without her by his side, it had killed him over the last couple of weeks.

"Five minutes at night while you change and then collapse into bed, a couple seconds in the morning when I kiss you good-bye…it's hard Kim," Tommy said as she shook her head and gave him a semi disgusted look. "I know how important it is to keep the kids here with us, but I didn't even notice you were showing until tonight and it's more than just a day or two of not seeing you…I guess I'm being selfish, but…"

"You didn't notice?" Kim asked as Tommy shook his head no and she bit down on her lower lip. She had noticed it two weeks ago, when she put on a skirt and it suddenly didn't fit anymore. He was her husband and although she had shared the very small bump of their unborn child weeks before, he was only now getting a chance to see the real proof of what they had made. "Come get in bed."

"You're not going to kill me?" Tommy asked as Kim shook her head no and he then crawled in next to her. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have let it get to me."

"No, you should have. I'm so focused on the case that I'm forgetting about you and the kids and it's not right. They need both of us here, not just me or you, especially with Mesogogg out there," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her. "What? He's a good reason."

"But not the real reason that the both of us need to be here," Tommy said as Kim nodded her head in agreement that what he saying was indeed the truth. They needed the both of them for the stability that had been lacking with Jeremy and the security that they now had was something that they could not risk losing or the kids would not make it. "I love you, Kim."

"I love you too and I'll try to be better," Kim said as Tommy nodded and she turned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Don't let me walk away from us again."

"I don't plan on it," Tommy whispered as he gave her a quick kiss and then rested his arms around her, exhausted from his day and hoping that there would be more days of peace than trial over the next several months.


	13. Chapter 13

"Mama, what are we doing?" Jessie asked as they wandered through Wal-Mart picking up various party items. Tommy's 30th birthday was the next day and she had planned a party for him. It also gave them the perfect chance to tell everyone that she was pregnant, which they had not gotten around to doing with the battles and the custody retrial.

"Getting stuff for Daddy's party tomorrow and remember, it's a secret," Kim said as Jessie nodded and then ran ahead to grab some plates. She was exhausted and could almost feel the hesitation in Tommy every night when she got into bed. It had been close to a month since they had made love and she was about to go crazy. She knew that it wasn't because he didn't want to, but because he knew that rest was more important for her. The problem was, she was lying awake at night, thinking of things that she yearned for and the man lying next to her was at the top of the list.

"Is that why Daddy took Austin for the afternoon?" Jessie asked as Kim laughed. It was true that Austin did have a tendency to tell secrets, but that was not the reason today. After a long week at school, Tommy had declared that he was taking Austin out for a boys' night and she had readily accepted the request. She had honestly wandered how she was going to keep everything a secret from him, but he was helping out a great deal.

"No, he just wanted to have fun without doing anything girly for a night," Kim said as Jessie looked at her and then nodded. She didn't understand why he would be like that, but it seemed that her mother was fine with it, so she would not have a problem with it either.

"Does that mean we can do girly stuff?" Jessie asked as Kim nodded her head yes and Jessie squealed with delight. "Hurry up Mama! I want to get home!"

* * *

"Kim! I'm home!" Tommy yelled as he walked in the front door the next day and saw that the lights were off and that the house appeared to be empty. "Kim!"

"I'm in the backyard Tommy!" Kim called as he granted himself a confused moment before heading back there to join her. Today was his birthday and he had hoped that she would want to go out somewhere, but from what it sounded like, she was in no such mood.

"Surprise!" the people in the yard yelled as Tommy opened that back door and saw all their friends, as well as a few former rangers that he had not known as well.

"How did you do this?" Tommy asked, looking down at Kim and she shrugged her shoulders as he gave her a crushing kiss, which had the kids screaming ew at the top of their lungs. "Thank you."

"You don't have to mention it," Kim said as her hand rubbed her swelling abdomen and he reached over and took it in his own. Several of their friends knew about the baby, but the time had come to make a formal announcement.

"Hey! We want to eat sometime this year!" Rocky called as Tommy looked up at him and smiled. "What? Do you have an announcement?"

"Actually," Kim started as they looked over at her and she then looked up at Tommy. She didn't know how to say it, not in front of them. The last two times had been phone calls, where she couldn't see their faces, but only hear their emotions.

"For those of you who didn't figure it out, we're having a baby," Tommy said as several of the female rangers looked down at Kim's stomach and saw the belly, which caused them to gasp. How in the world had they missed that? "But before you rush her, let's dig in."  
"I have something special for you," Kim whispered as he looked down at her and she smiled. "After everyone leaves."

"Oh, one of those specials," Tommy said as she nodded and he then gently guided her in front of him. He knew that if he didn't force her to eat, she would probably forget. She was repulsed by the idea of food, but they both knew that she needed to eat and continue to gain weight or there might be complications for her later.

"Daddy! Were you surprised?" Jessie asked as she ran up to him and he lifted her up.

"Yes and I'm guessing that you somehow helped your mama with this," Tommy said as Jessie's eyes widened and he smiled. "I'm a psychic."

"No you're not!" Jessie shrieked as Tommy laughed and his arms went around her in a tight hug.

"Go play," Tommy encouraged as Jessie ran off and he looked down at Kim. "What?"

"You are impossible," Kim said as Tommy smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"But you love me anyway," Tommy whispered as he heard Austin shriek and looked back for him, as Kim continued to fill her plate. He spotted the boy at the edge of the woods and then his heart dropped, Jeremy was there and he had no clue how he had found them. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Kim said as she gave him a confused look and watched as Tommy headed off towards the woods, then she noticed Jeremy as well. "Jason!"

"What?" Jason asked as he looked over at her and then followed her line of sight to see where Tommy was headed. "Guys, we have a problem."

"Yeah, I see what you're talking about…so do we let Tommy handle it or all of us?" Zack asked as Kim took in a shaky breath and then placed her food on the table. By now Tommy had reached Austin and Jeremy and he looked like he was ready to kill.

"All of you, that way Tommy won't be in jail for murder," Trini said as they all looked over at her. They had not even thought of stopping him, it would be one less problem for them.

"Austin, go on back to the porch," Tommy said as he squatted down next to the boy, who looked scared to death and Austin shook his head no as he grabbed Tommy's hand.

"He'll hurt you, Daddy," Austin said, looking up at Tommy, as Tommy looked him in the eye and gave him a quick hug.

"I'll be fine, go back to Mama," Tommy said, gently, as Austin managed to nod and then sprinted away from the two men. "You son of a bitch."

"What? I have the right to see my children, the judge said so," Jeremy said as Tommy nodded.

"Yes, but you have to call us and ask for the children, not just show up uninvited for them," Tommy said, calmly, as the other men started towards them, with the intention of causing Jeremy a great deal of bodily harm. "And that is only until all of this is sorted out in court, because this judge doesn't know what you've done in the past."

"That's why I came to the west coast," Jeremy said as Tommy crossed his arms and glared at the man. "I'm not scared of you Oliver."

"Hmm, considering the fact I've put you in the hospital twice, I wouldn't press my luck if I was you," Tommy said as Jason snickered from behind him.

"Well, the whole gang is here. Couldn't face me alone?" Jeremy asked as Tommy just shook his head in disgust.

"Actually, we were sent down here by our wives to make sure he doesn't kill you," Zack said as Jeremy looked over at him. He knew Zack, as well as Jason, and he had thought that they might be on his side in some of this. "After what you did to Jessie, can't forgive you man."

"Before you hit him, you might want to remember that we'll kick your ass once he's done," Rocky said as Jeremy had drawn back to punch Zack. "Just a warning."

"Get off my property and when you want to see the kids, call," Tommy said as Jeremy looked from him to each of the other men before deciding that this might be the best offer he was going to get from the Oliver.

"I will see them," Jeremy said as Tommy nodded that he had no choice but to allow it, although he wanted to kill the man every time that he saw him.

"But not today," Tommy said as Jeremy walked back into the woods and they watched him disappear. "Guys, I don't know what's worse right now, him or Mesogogg."

"I think Kim would say him," Trini said as she walked down to the crowd of men. "Tommy, she went inside with the kids. She's not taking this too well."

"I know," Tommy said as he let out a sigh. "Have a good time and make sure you eat. I'll try to get her to come back out."

"You know she'll be upset that this was ruined," Billy commented as the others nodded their heads.

"I don't doubt that he is already working on a way to salvage this so that she won't be completely demoralized about it in the morning," Trini said as Billy nodded and they headed back to the deck where most of the kids were now eating. They just hoped that everything would be all right with this. None of them wanted Jeremy to get partial custody, because if he did, they all knew it would only be a matter of time before he struck again.


	14. Chapter 14

"Hey! Dr. O!" Conner yelled as the teen jogged towards his teacher, surprising him with the eagerness in his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Other than me going home?" Tommy asked as Conner nodded his head yes and he gave him a confused look. "Is something going on that I don't know about?"

"I just needed to talk to you about something," Conner said as Tommy barely nodded and then settled against his jeep and gave Conner an expectant look. "Not here, it's related to work."

"No one is around Conner, so we can talk," Tommy said as Conner let out a sigh and then looked back over at his mentor.

"I'm not sure if I can be a ranger anymore," Conner said as Tommy's mouth fell open and he stared at the boy. He had been under the impression that Conner was going to ask him for practice or something. "Look, I know that I was basically volunteered into it by my knowledge, but with everything else going on in my life…"

"You're leaving the team?" Tommy asked as Conner nodded his head yes and Tommy let out a sigh. "Give me your gem."

"What?" Conner asked as Tommy held out his hand.

"If you're leaving the team I need your gem, so that I can be the red ranger, it's as simple as that," Tommy said as Conner let out a sigh and pulled the morpher from his waist. "It's too bad that you've never really been tested, you'd have made a great leader."

"I just can't do this, Dr. O," Conner said as Tommy saw the two other rangers walking towards them and then noticed as the third ranger topped the hill.

"Who the hell are you?" Tommy asked as he kicked out and the imposter went flying into the nearest car. He then looked down at the morpher in his hands and saw a black gem, not a red one.

"Took you long enough, you're losing your touch Tommy," Cole said as he stood up and Tommy did a double take. "I got some help to look exactly like Conner, but we need you to take that gem."

"Why not just give it to me?" Tommy asked as he took in and turned it over in his hands and there was a sudden glow around him. "No…"

"You were meant to have it Tommy, there is nothing that you can do about that," Cole said as Tommy shook his head. "Look, the Feds came after me with it, special instructions to give it to you. How the hell they knew I was a ranger, I don't know, but I'm just going to do what they say. Hopefully they'll get off my case and let me go one with my life."

"They don't seem to care that much about mine," Tommy said as Cole gave him a confused look. "My wife's pregnant…I didn't want to do this to her."

"You're married?" Cole asked as Tommy nodded his head as his rangers ran up. "I never saw you as the settling down type."

"Yeah, long story…one day we can get together and I'll explain," Tommy said as Cole barely nodded and looked over at the teens. "Conner, Ethan, Kira…this is Cole Evans, he brought us a present."

"What kind of present?" Kira asked, hesitantly, as Tommy held up the morpher and her face fell. "Oh God, what is Kimberly going to do to you?"

"I don't know," Tommy said as Cole gave him a funny gaze. "Yes, this is the Kimberly that Jason told all of you about, just don't tell her that Jason told you about our former relationship, she's liable to kill someone."

"Why?" Cole asked as Tommy shook his head and then motioned for Cole to hop into his jeep.

"Hormones are a bitch," Tommy said with a smile, as Cole barely comprehended what he had said and then shook his head. "Guys, just meet me at the center whenever you get a chance."

"Why not right away?" Conner asked as Ethan and Kira shook their heads.

"He's trying to save us from Kimberly's reaction, which might be enough to scare us into never coming back," Kira said as Tommy nodded and then went on hopped in his jeep as well.

"I'll see you sometime this afternoon, if you get around to it," Tommy said with a grin as the kids nodded and then took a few steps away from the vehicle. They were not sure if they would risk going to his house this afternoon.

* * *

"You're what!" Kimberly yelled as Tommy cringed as he sat down on the couch and prepared himself to be berated. "How the hell did you wind up with fucking powers!"

"The children!" Tommy exclaimed as Kim turned on him and Cole took in her pregnant form. He was sure that she needed to calm down, but Tommy seemed to not be concerned about that, as much as maintaining his male anatomy.

"At the sitters, since I thought that we were going to have a relaxing evening together. Trini offered to watch them until about nine," Kim said as Tommy winced. He had forgotten about their plans for tonight after having the morpher placed in his hands. "What the fuck happened?"

"Some agent brought him the powers and then gave him directions to bring them to me," Tommy said as Kim leveled her gaze on him and he looked back at her. "Can you calm down for the baby?"

"I'm fine! I blew my top with Austin and Jessie!" Kim yelled as she grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. "Why wouldn't you take the powers?"

"I didn't know about the marriage or the baby, otherwise I would have. I was under instructions to give them to Tommy or risk my team being revealed," Cole said as Kim's eyes narrowed and she charged into the kitchen to grab the phone and the FBI agent's number.

"She is going to kill one of us," Tommy said as he heard her now yelling at someone on the other end of the phone line. "Or him."

"You son of a bitch! Did you even think about asking us before you did this? And why the hell sabotage another teams identity?" Kim yelled as the two men cringed and attempted to find places to hide. "You have no answer for me!"

"This doesn't sound good," Tommy said as she continued to yell at the man and then he heard her yell out in pain. "Shit."

"Tommy!" Kim yelled as she had dropped the phone and was clutching her stomach. "Tommy!"

"Shh, it's all right, calm down," Tommy whispered as he wrapped his arms around her to support her. "How bad is it?"

"I'm scared," Kim muttered as her hands wrapped over his and he nodded.

"You want me to hang up?" Tommy asked as he picked up the phone and she looked back at him.

"Yell at the son of a bitch," Kim said as he smiled and then gladly obliged her request.

"Tommy let me explain," Brad started as Tommy looked at the phone.

"I frankly don't give a damn what explanation you have. You gave me fucking powers, you got what you wanted and now the two of us might have to pay. You better pray nothing happens to my child or I will kill you after this is over," Tommy threatened and then hung up on the man as Kim's face tightened in pain and he picked her up.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Cole asked as Kim looked over at him and then up at Tommy.

"Give me a second," Kim said as her hand reached to place Tommy's in a better place. "Don't let go."

"Look at me," Tommy muttered as she looked over at him and he took a good look in her eyes. "Is it just pain?"

"No," Kim muttered as he took in a shaky breath and then nodded to Cole that they were going to need to go to the hospital. "No, Tommy, we'll be fine. Just get me upstairs and in bed, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Tommy asked as she nodded yes and he walked her up the stairs. "You want anything?"

"Other than you to hold me, no," Kim said as he nodded and then gave her a gentle hug. "Where are you going?"

"To get Cole back home and then I'll be right back, you sure we don't need to go to the hospital?" Tommy asked as she nodded her head yes and gave him a quick kiss.

"We'll be fine, just come back quick," Kim said in a worried tone as he nodded and then walked down the stairs to send Cole on his way.

"She doesn't look good," Cole said as Tommy nodded and then shook his head. "You sure you don't' want to take her anyway?"

"I trust that she knows her own body and if things aren't better by morning, I'll take her," Tommy said as Cole gave him a concerned look. "I know, but she might kill me if I try to take her now."

"But do you want to risk…" Cole started as Tommy silenced him with one look. "Which way out?"

"Go down here and teleport yourself out," Tommy said as Cole nodded and then he ran back upstairs to see his wife. He knew that he was risking bodily harm to stay away longer than was absolutely necessary. He hoped and prayed that this was nothing more than her working herself up, but if it wasn't, he didn't know what he would do. The threat had been merely that, a threat, but he knew he might actually go through with it if they lost this baby.


	15. Chapter 15

"Kim! Tommy! I've brought the kids back!" Trini yelled up the stairs as Jessie and Austin ran towards their rooms. "Kids, hold on."

"Trini, they're fine," Tommy said as he emerged from the bedroom upstairs and walked down the steps. "Hey, Mama's not feeling to good right now, let her get some sleep and you'll see her in the morning."

"But Daddy, Mama promised that she'd tuck us in," Austin said as Tommy gave Trini a desperate look as she followed him up the stairs. "Daddy!"

"Tommy, what happened?" Trini asked as Tommy looked away from her and she saw the guilt in his eyes. "Tommy…"

"Help me get them to bed," Tommy said as Trini barely nodded and they stared at each other for a moment longer. It was understood that they would talk as soon as the kids had gone to sleep.

"So, what really happened?" Trini asked as he sat down and placed his head in his hands. "Something has happened, you wouldn't look like this if that was the case."

"Powers, again, this time bestowed upon me by the agents that are watching us. Kim flew off the hinges and worked herself into a state after she found out. She hasn't been sleeping too good tonight," Tommy said as Trini stared. "I have to keep them safe…somehow."

"Somehow…this sounds like a nightmare," Trini said as Tommy barely nodded in agreement. It had been enough to know that the monsters were after his family by mere association, but this was almost too much to take. "She had cramps, didn't she?"

"Yes," Tommy said as they heard a door open and he looked up to see Kim standing at the top of the stairs. "You need anything?"  
"No, I'm…I just feel sick," Kim said as he stood up and was at the top of the stairs before she knew it. "The baby's fine, I just don't feel good."

"Let's get back to bed, everything will be fine," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. "Is something else wrong?"

"Blood," Kim whispered as Tommy's eyes widened and she shook her head that it wasn't what he was thinking. "I…I just cut my foot on something, can you clean it for me?"

"Yeah," Tommy said as he picked her up and then placed her in the chair he had vacated.

"Trini, what's going on?" Kim asked as the other girl looked over at her.

"Brought the kids back then I had to talk to him. He told me what happened," Trini said as Kim nodded. "Look how big you've gotten!"

"Thanks," Kim said as Trini shook her head. "I've been really out of it for the last few days."

"Pregnancy does that to you," Trini said as Kim nodded. "Are you thinking about names?"

"Why did you have to ask?" Tommy said as he reached up to examine her foot. "Honey, I don't see any cuts."

"I have to have one," Kim said as Tommy examined further up her lower legs and found a cut about halfway up her leg.

"How'd you do that?" Tommy asked, to himself as Kim shook her head that she had no clue and he covered his face. "Honey, we need to get you back to bed."

"I want to talk about names," Kim said as Tommy let out a sigh and then crawled up next to her.

"I can't convince you otherwise?" Tommy asked as his hands covered hers and she shook her head. "Okay, you know it's just an argument waiting to happen."  
"Whoa, I just wanted to know if there was anything for sure. I know that you don't want to know what the baby is…" Trini trailed off as Kim looked over at Tommy.

"He doesn't want to know," Kim said, pointedly, as Tommy stood up. "Where are you going?"

"If I stay we'll be yelling at each other within minutes, I don't want to wake the kids and I have to work tomorrow, I'll be grading papers. Yell when you want to go back up," Tommy said giving her a kiss on the forehead and then walked away from him.

"Okay," Kim said as she watched him walk away. "I want Emma or Cameron."

"Why does Tommy have a problem with that?" Trini asked as Kim let out a sigh. "Kim?"

"It's because I never talked with him, I just said that these were the names I wanted," Kim said as Trini gave her a confused look. "Actually, I didn't give him much of a choice."

"Didn't give him a choice? Kim, we both know that's wrong, he's the father," Trini said as Kim sighed. 'This all comes down to Jeremy, doesn't it."

"It does but only because he never gave me a choice and I just want…I want some say," Kim whispered as Trini nodded. "Tommy's going to kill me."

"No Kim, you just need to tell him the truth, this is Tommy that we're talking about he's always been a good man," Trini said a Kim nodded and placed her hand over the baby's foot.

"Tommy! Tommy!" Kim yelled as Trini looked at her with concern.

"What?" Tommy asked as he walked in and she motioned for him to come to her. "Kim…"

"You can feel the baby kick," Kim said as his eyes widened and Trini stood to let herself out, not wanting to intrude on the moment.

"How long have you been able to…" Tommy trailed off as she took his hand and placed it over the foot. "Kim, I…if only I can…I miss this."

"It's the first time that you've…Tommy how long have you felt that?" Kim asked as Tommy closed his eyes and then gave her a tentative smile. "Tommy, how long have you felt this?"

"About a week, one night I was awake and little thumper here started hitting my hand. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I wanted…I wanted it to come from you," Tommy whispered as she closed her eyes. "When will the trial end?"

"Soon, very soon," Kim whispered as she rubbed his hand and smiled. "I don't deserve you Tommy."

"And I don't deserve your kindness," Tommy whispered as he kissed her cheek and held her tight. "You need to rest."  
"I love you," Kim whispered as his hands gently rubbed her swollen belly and she moaned in pleasure. She had missed the feeling of his hands on her, holding her tight and making the worries go away.

"Come on, let's get some sleep," Tommy whispered as he helped her up and guided her to their bedroom. He could tell that sleep was the last thing on her mind, but they'd deal with that later.


	16. Chapter 16

"Well Mrs. Oliver, you have made quite a case against the defendant. I've also heard Mr. Wallace's case, and frankly, I don't see why visitation rights cannot be given, but only with supervision," Judge Marshall said as Kim settled in her seat and barely nodded. She had expected something like this to happen, although she had hoped against it. She did not trust Jeremy to not do anything, even with a chaperone there at all times. "The court will assign the times and a chaperone for all visits."

"Thank you," Kim said as she began gathering materials and placing them in her briefcase. Today had not been a good day for her and she was starting to feel the effects of staying up late last night to prepare for her final words. All she wanted to do was go home to her children and husband and just forget everything that had happened.

"Pregnancy looks good on you Kimberly," Jeremy remarked as she looked up at him and he smiled. "Wasted no time, did you?"

"Jeremy, please, I don't have time for this," Kim said as she stood up and he grabbed her arm. "Please, let me go, I've been under enough stress lately without this."

"Tommy, not being a good husband to you?" Jeremy asked as she leveled a glare on him. She might be afraid of what he could do to her and the baby, but she knew that she had to make some things very clear to him. He had a snowball's chance in hell of getting her back after everything that he had done and if he thought accusing Tommy of being a bad husband was a good start, he was very wrong.

"He's not you and he will never be you. He's a wonderful husband," Kim said as she jerked away from him. Looking up, she saw Hayley, a friend of theirs, standing at the back of the courtroom. "Excuse me."

"Kim, Tommy was supposed to come see Kira's concert, but he never showed. The kids made it, but…" Hayley trailed off as Kim's face paled and her briefcase dropped to the floor. This could not be happening, not now. "Do you know what might have happened?"

"Tommy…"Kim muttered as she felt her world spin. "Tommy…"

* * *

"Kim's in the hospital, the kids are with Hayley and we have no clue where to start looking for him!" Kira yelled as Conner and Ethan stared at her. Neither of them had ever seen this side of the yellow ranger.

"Don't worry," Billy said as they snapped their heads to look at him. They could have sworn that they were the only people here a few minutes ago. "That's why I'm here."

"Wouldn't Kim be the only one that could help us?" Conner asked as Billy shook his head no. These rangers still had a lot to learn about the job that they were involved in. "She'll be out tomorrow, right?"

"And probably under strict orders not to do anything more than sleep and eat for a couple of days. Being pregnant and fainting like she did, she'll be told to rest and we'll have to make sure she does that," Billy said as Conner barely nodded. "If Tommy's not back when she gets here…"

"It can't be that bad, Kim should be fine as long as we've…" Conner trailed off as Billy shook his head. None of them had ever seen Kim or Tommy react to the other being captured. It had not been pretty in the past and he was sure with everything else that was at stake that this time would be even worse. "We have to get him back?"

"As soon as we can," Billy said as he looked over the plots and shook his head. Tommy's signal was coming in strong and if he was right he knew the general area well enough, that damn island had nearly killed Tommy a few years ago. "Tommy's not going to like this when he gets back."

"You think?" Kira snapped as Billy looked over at her and shook his head. He couldn't blame them for reacting this way, as they didn't understand that their powers did not protect them from everything just yet. The powers helped to keep them safe in a battle, but they did not do much against being captured or hurt outside of that.

"Kim, what are you doing here?" Billy asked as she sat down on the couch and covered her face. "They let you out of the hospital in this condition?"

"Actually, she left and I didn't have much of a choice but to follow and make sure she got here safely. I took the kids to Jason's," Hayley said as Kim looked up at Billy, not hearing the words that Hayley had said. "Tommy is going to kill one of us once he finds out this happened."

"One of us? I think the both of us is more accurate," Billy said as he looked between Kim and Hayley. "You are going to help me find him and I am going to get someone here to watch after her."

"Billy, I'm fine, I just need my husband," Kim whispered as she looked up at him and he managed a weak smile before he teleported Zack in. He knew that Tommy would really kill them if anything happened to the baby or Kimberly because of this. "Really, I'm fine, I just need Tommy."

"Kim, he'll be fine, the baby is who I am concerned for at the moment," Billy said as Zack looked between the two of them. He had a feeling of what was going on, but he knew nothing for certain. "If you insist on staying down here, you must rest."

"Rest? Have you lost your mind! The father of my children has been captured and sent to God knows where and you want me to be calm!" Kim yelled as Billy stuck her in the arm and she slumped over against Conner.

"Take her upstairs, keep her in bed, that should keep her out for a few hours, hopefully she'll keep on sleeping after it wears off," Billy said as Zack looked over at her and then at Billy.

"She's going to kill us," Zack commented as he picked her up and shook his head.

"As long as we get Tommy back and the baby is safe, everything will be fine," Billy said as Zack nodded and then headed up the stairs. He knew that was much easier said than done, especially with Tommy. He was known for being captured and staying that way for several days, the longest tally they had was a week. They all knew that Billy could not continue sticking Kim in the arm for a week, just to keep her sane. They had to find him and bring him back, before anything else happened here.


	17. Chapter 17

"Zack, what are you doing here?" Kim asked as she woke up the next day, confused as to how she had gotten up here and not sure if she wanted to know just how at this point. She knew that they would go to great lengths to protect her and the baby and she didn't like thinking of what those links might be.

"Making sure you stay in bed, the doctor really doesn't want another fainting episode from you and neither do we," Zack said as Kim slumped back against the pillows and let out a long sigh. "What's that for?"

"I can only guess that Tommy is still captured if they have you up here watching me. Do they at least know where he is?" Kim asked as Zack let out a sigh of his own. "Zack I deserve to know, he's my husband."

"They've found him, the kids just haven't been able to hatch a fail proof plan to get to him and bring him back," Zack said as Kim barely nodded as she reached over to the nightstand and found a glass of water. She was glad that he had at least thought ahead enough to know that she was going to be thirsty when she woke up.

"Can you get me some aspirin? I've got a really bad headache," Kim said as Zack barely nodded and then stood to go get it as Kim rested her hands over her swollen abdomen. "Why can't your daddy keep himself out of trouble?"

"She's awake," Zack said as Billy looked over at him and Conner then thumped his head on the table. The longer that Kim was out, the longer that they would be able to have to put together something. "I'm guessing that you are no further along than you were last night."

"No, we're working on it though," Billy said as he looked over at Conner with frustration. "If someone would stop banging his head on the table, things might get better."

"Not much we can do about that," Zack said as he shook his head. "I need some aspirin and something for Kim to eat. I think that her headache might partially be because of the fact that she hasn't eaten in about half a day."

"That might be a very important thing to get her," Billy said as he stood up and started searching through the food for something that Kim would be able to eat and would not feel like throwing up.

"And I don't think we should take a very long time about it, otherwise Kim will come down here and the last thing you'll want to tell her is that you are no closer than you were last night," Zack said as Billy tossed him an orange as well as a couple of pieces of bread. "You think this will work?"

"It'll hold her over until I can whip up something that can actually be a meal," Billy said as Zack nodded and then went up the stairs. "You better think of something."

"Think of something? What are you here for if you're not going to help us?" Conner blurted as Billy started throwing food together.

"You are the rangers now, you are the ones with powers, my entire job right now is to keep Kim from fainting again and winding back up in the hospital. I don't want to pay the hell to Tommy that's about to come," Billy said as they all looked at him. "He won't blame us for what happened at first, but if something else happens that we could have prevented, don't you think that he won't take it out on us."

"You make Tommy seem like he's a monster," Kira said as Billy placed some chicken in the oven and then looked at them.

"You have never seen Tommy evil, possessed, mad, any emotion that is negative. You have only ever seen him when things are good and let me tell you when these beings go after some in his life, things change, especially if it's the ones that he loves," Billy said as they looked at him in confusion.

"So, we need to get him back?" Kira asked as Billy nodded his head that they most definitely needed to get him back and quickly if they could manage it.

"Here you go," Zack said as he passed Kim the aspirin and then he started pealing the orange. "Might as well get some food in you while we're at it."

"You don't have to be here, Zack, I'm not going to do anything crazy," Kim said as Zack gave her a skeptical look. "Okay, so I might, but…it wouldn't be the first time."

"Yeah, but your ass isn't the only one that's one the line if anything happens to you or the baby," Zack said as Kim nodded. "So, can you just be a good person and stay in bed for me?"

"I wasn't really planning on going anywhere Zack, unless something happens," Kim said as Zack settled back down and barely smiled over at her. "They don't have a plan, do they?"

"Not really," Zack answered, honestly, as Kim let out a sigh. "But we've got to trust them, because they are the only things that stand between Tommy living and Tommy dying."

"Don't remind me," Kim said as Zack reached over for her hand and she just shook her head. "I'm not sure how much I trust them."

"We don't have much of a choice," Zack said as Kim nodded and then took a slice of the orange from him.

* * *

"God, Kimberly is going to kill me," Tommy whispered as he came to and looked around the room. He had no clue how long he had been out, but he knew that it was definitely long enough for Kim to notice it.

"Kimberly would be the least of my worries at the moment Tommy," Mesogogg said as Tommy let out a groan as the memories of what had happened the night before came back to him. Being grabbed in the street, forcing the kids into Hayley's, struggling to get away from them, but not being able to do that. He was not sure of the hell that he was going to catch, but he knew that it would not be pleasant.

"You don't know my wife," Tommy joked as he rolled his head over and looked at Mesogogg with a smirk.

"Maybe I should get to know her better," Mesogogg said as Tommy laughed.

"You try that and see where it gets you," Tommy said as he glared over at the being. "It's not our choice to be here, to be the ones to face you."

"I know and I find it funny that you are the one here, instead of one of the lovely agents that have been working with you," Mesogogg said as Tommy shook his head.

"Those lovely agents gave me fucking powers and my wife nearly had our baby prematurely because of it. If you so much as lay one hand on her…" Tommy started as Mesogogg chuckled.

"You are not exactly in a position to threaten me," Mesogogg said as Tommy nodded his head that he agreed on that fact. "But you don't have to worry about your precious wife or children, I'm not planning on getting myself killed in the next few weeks."

"Few weeks?" Tommy asked as he looked at him. "How long have I been here?"

"About a day, which is long enough for Kim to be in a right state, but not long enough for them to have sent the lackies in after you," Mesogogg said as Tommy shook his head.

"You might just want to send me back," Tommy said as Mesogogg shook his head. "At least I tried."

"You've been doing this for far too long," Mesogogg said as Tommy nodded his head in agreement.

"Well it's the easiest way out of this, not that that is ever going to happen," Tommy said as Mesogogg nodded. "Funny that we used to work together."

"Before I went to hell, yes and you aren't exactly a saint either Mr. Oliver," Mesogogg said as Tommy let out a groan. "So you remember?"

"I face the damn things every single time that you attack," Tommy said as Mesogogg shrugged. "You know they'll come for me soon enough."

"Yeah, I know and I'm not going to try to stop them, but I am going to see what they are going to do to try to get to you. You know just how much that gives away about your capabilities," Mesogogg said as Tommy looked around in distress. "What are you worried about?"

"My wife is going to kill me," Tommy said as Mesogogg just shook his head. "Like I said before, you don't know her."


	18. Chapter 18

"Portal jumping? Are you serious?" Conner asked as he stared at Hayley and Billy in confusion. Where in the world had they gotten the idea to do this?

"We cannot teleport you into Mesogogg's lair because they have blocked our teleportation frequencies, but we can get you to jump a portal that will take you into the lair where you can rescue Tommy. You have the bikes, they will excel you to a speed that can easily launch you through the invisaportals and into the area. You will then get Tommy and get out. You'll be home in time for supper," Hayley explained as the rangers looked at each other and then sighed. They did not seem to have much of a choice about the matter and this was the best option that they had been give so far. It would be the first real challenge that they faced as rangers and it would define them.

"Let's do this," Kira said as she stood up and walked over to her bike and then morphed. There was no time to waste waiting and hoping that something better would happen or that Tommy would just drop out of thin air back into this world, they had to act and quickly.

* * *

"Your power brats are coming," Mesogogg commented as Tommy shook his head.

"How many times do I have to explain this was not my choice," Tommy said as Mesogogg looked over at him and leered.

"It may not have been your choice, Tommy, but you are doing an exceptional job for someone that didn't want to do this," Mesogogg said as Tommy let out a sigh. He couldn't deny the fact that the man was right, but he only knew one way of doing this job and it was well.

"So, you are going to let them attack and rescue me? That seems far too simple," Tommy said as Mesogogg looked down at him and shook his head.

"Stop trying to understand the minds of an evil being, all it is going to do is give you a headache," Mesogogg said as Tommy chuckled. "What do you find so funny?"

"You make it seem like you are the only person that has ever had evil within them. You knew a lot about me when we worked together, but you didn't know everything. I'm not trying to figure out what it's like to be an evil being, I know what it's like," Tommy said as Mesogogg's eyes involuntarily widened and Tommy smiled. He had finally succeeded in getting Mesogogg to let his guard down enough that he could see what was truly happening. "You see, that's why you don't scare me and my wife does. I know what your limits are, she has none, at least not in that aspect. There are forms of torture that you would never even imagine, that she can do to me without even thinking about them. Ah, that would be the cavalry."

"You…you…" Mesogogg stuttered as Tommy laughed when the door was blown off the hinges, hitting Mesogogg and promptly knocking him out.

"Hey guys," Tommy said with as smile as the rangers crowded him. "If you can detach the nice little straps that are holding me down, I'd appreciate it, I have a feeling that I have a pretty upset wife at home."

"You have no idea," Conner said as Tommy looked over at him and then reached for his communicator to teleport out. "Teleportation doesn't work here, we have to go back through the portal that we came out of."

"And where is that portal?" Tommy asked as the rangers started pushing him in the general direction of the portal. "Why the rush?"

"We'll explain later, if we don't get there before the portal closes, we're going to all be trapped here," Ethan said as Tommy nodded his head in understanding and ran after them as they led the way through the maze of corridors. The surge that he was feeling from his new powers forced him to morph into the black ranger as he trailed after them. The four of the dove through the portal and landed on the ground with a thud, as the three younger rangers forced themselves to stand and looked up at Tommy, who had somehow landed on his feet.

"You've still got some stuff to learn," Tommy said with a smile as they looked at him and then felt the sensation of teleportation over take them and found themselves back in the Command Center before they knew what had happened to them.

"Nice to have you back," Billy said as Tommy looked over at him as he pulled off his helmet. "You're not going to like what we have to tell you."

"Kim passed out, didn't she?" Tommy asked as Billy nodded his head yes and he let out a sigh. He had known that she would be shocked at the news, but he had no idea exactly how shocked. "Where are the kids?"

"Hayley has them settled in upstairs, I'm sure you can say good night to them once you've talked with Kim," Billy said as Tommy nodded and then powered down as he walked out of the Command Center.

"Is there anything else that I should know before I go up there?" Tommy asked as Billy shook his head no. He knew that there was no way to warn Tommy of the truly foul mood that Kimberly was in at the moment, but Tommy would be able to handle it, he was sure of it.

"Good luck," Conner said as Tommy looked over at the boy in shock. Why would he need luck when it came to his wife? Was she honestly that mad at him about getting captured or was there more to the story?

"Kim," Tommy whispered as he walked into their bedroom and saw her lying on her side, sound asleep. He honestly doubted that she would like being awakened, but he also knew that if he just crawled in next to her that he would get it when she awoke. "Kim, wake up."

"No," Kim muttered, stubbornly, reminding Tommy of Jessie when he woke her up some mornings.

"I'm home, wake up," Tommy whispered, leaning in dangerously close to her as he planted a kiss on the nape of her neck and she jerked awake. "Sorry."

"They got you back?" Kim asked as she looked up at him and he settled himself at a safe distance on the bed and nodded his head yes. "They were afraid that they wouldn't be able to."

"But they did," Tommy said as Kim smiled and he then gave her a furious hug. "I was so worried about you."

"I did pass out when I found out the news and the doctor ordered me to a restful weekend, but that's not the worst of it Tommy," Kim said as he gave her a concerned and she gulped, before she forced herself to say the words. "He's given Jeremy visitation rights, supervised, but that's a way to start working back to split custody."

"That's not what I wanted to hear," Tommy muttered as he pulled her into him and let out a sigh. "And the only way that he'll be stopped is if he does something, right?"

"Yes, but I don't want to think about that right now, I just want you to climb into bed with me and hold me," Kim pleaded as she looked up at Tommy and he barely nodded his head before climbing under the covers and she soon followed suit and snuggled up against him. "I am so glad that you are back."

"So am I," Tommy whispered into her hair as he settled his hands over their unborn child and a smile settled on his face before he drifted off to sleep. He might not have been tortured in the normal sense, but it was worse to remove him from his wife than to strike him a thousand times. He had learned that over the last couple of days and he did not want to experience this again anytime soon if he could help it.


	19. Chapter 19

"Daddy!" Jessie yelled as she ran up to him and Tommy scooped her up in a fierce hug. The kids had not taken his absence well and he honestly didn't blame them for that. He knew that he would not have liked it when he was a kid to lose either of his parents because of something like this.

"Hey sweetie," Tommy said as she clung to him and he held her tight.

"Daddy!" Austin yelled as well as he threw his arms around Tommy's legs and held onto him tight.

"Hey Austin," Tommy said as he knelt down and picked the boy up as well.

"Where's Mama?" Jessie asked as Tommy looked at the both of them and smiled. It didn't really surprise him that the kids were worried about Kimberly, they hadn't seen her in several days, although that was mostly because of the condition that she was in right now.

"Upstairs, we'll go see her in a little bit," Tommy said as Jessie and Austin smiled at him.

"Daddy is it true that we're going to have to see…" Jessie began as Tommy nodded his head yes and saw the girl's face crumple. He knew how much she had been hurt by Jeremy in the past and he didn't blame her for not ever wanting to see him again. "I don't want to."

"I know, but don't worry, we'll keep you safe. Come on, Mama wants to see you," Tommy said as he carried the both of them up the stairs with him and listened to their careless jabber with great ease. He loved coming home to this every night and even if things went wrong, he knew that they would always be here, no matter what.

"Mama!" Austin cried as he jumped into bed with Kim and she slowly rolled over to give him a hug.

"Be careful," Tommy whispered as Austin had jumped on top of Kim's belly and she smiled over at him.

"It's so good to see you," Kim whispered as Jessie crawled in next to her as well and Kim held the both of them close. "My babies are home with me."

"Daddy's home too," Jessie whispered as Tommy smiled as he crawled into bed with them and he then picked Austin up and snuggled against Kim's side.

"You look tired," Austin said as Tommy nodded his head that he was and he looked over at Kim, who had shifted her body to become more comfortable against him.

"I am, why don't we all take a nap?" Tommy suggested as Jessie and Austin gave him odd looks and Kim slowly forced herself to sit up. "Kim, you need the rest, just as much as I do."

"It's okay, Tommy, I can go to the living room and watch tv with them while you get some rest. If anything happens I'll yell," Kim said as Tommy placed his hand over hers and she looked back at him. She could see that there was something in his eyes that showed his worry.

"I might not hear you…I've been keeping myself awake for nearly two days, I wish that I could promise that things would be all right and that I'd hear you but…" Tommy trailed off as Kim nodded and then squeezed his hand.

"We'll go to the play room, it's no big deal," Kim said as Tommy reluctantly nodded his head that that was fine. He knew that he wouldn't get any sleep with the kids being awake and wired and she was willing to do this for him. He'd owe her, he'd really owe her once he was able to be up and about again.

* * *

"What time is it?" Tommy asked as he propped himself up on his elbows and looked over to see Kim changing into her pajamas. "I slept all day?"

"You've slept for two days, actually," Kim said as he let out a groan. "Sucks being a ranger…doesn't it?"  
"Kim I didn't mean to sleep that long, you should have woken me up, the kids had to have been…" Tommy started as she sat down on the bed and placed a finger over his lips.

"They were fine Tommy, a little bit concerned, but fine nonetheless. If you want something to eat, I can fix something. Remember I'm pregnant, not an invalid," Kim said as Tommy started to sit up and he slumped back down. "Not moving in a couple of days does that to you, it'll be all right. What do you want?"  
"I really don't care, soup, whatever is easy for you to do," Tommy said as she nodded and then waddled out of the room.

"That man will be the death of me," Kim murmured as she shook her head and looked in on each of the kids before she went down the stairs.

"Kimberly," Jeremy said as her eyes shot up and she stared at him. "Can we talk?"

"Now isn't a good time, Jeremy," Kim said as she walked over to the stove and started making a grilled cheese on the stove. "How'd you get in here?"

"Door was open," Jeremy said as Kim gave him a startled look. "I promise I didn't break in…Kim I'm trying."

"There was a time when that would have made me the happiest woman in the world, but now…it's too late for you to really change things with me, you can still do that with the kids," Kim said as Jeremy barely nodded.

"When is that one due?" Jeremy asked as Kim shook her head.

"Three months," Kim said as he closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, for everything," Jeremy said as Kim looked over at him.

"I love him, I always have and I'm not going to let him go because you are sorry and are trying to do better. How many chances did I give you? How many?" Kim asked as she turned towards him and Tommy then entered the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked as he looked between the two of them.

"I've come to my senses," Jeremy said as Tommy nodded his head and then sat down at the kitchen table.

"I'm glad, I don't have the energy to beat the living crap out of you tonight," Tommy said as Jeremy looked over at Kim.

"I don't appreciate…" Jeremy started as Tommy looked up at him.

"Don't tell me what you 'don't appreciate'…you have no idea what I've been through, absolutely no idea," Tommy said as Jeremy looked between him and Kimberly.

"I knew there was something that was always odd about you and your friends Kim, I never thought I'd see it again. What is going on?" Jeremy asked as Tommy took a step towards Kim and placed his arm around her.

"It's nothing that you need to worry about, it won't affect the kids, that's one thing that I can be absolutely sure of," Kim said as Jeremy raised his eyebrows at her.

"How can you be so sure? You haven't been able to protect yourself from all of this," Jeremy remarked as Kim clutched Tommy's arm and held him tightly against her.

"I'd do anything to protect them. I may not be their biological father, but I've been more of a father to them than you have ever been," Tommy said as they both glared at each other and Kim gave Tommy's arm a gentle squeeze.

"I don't want it to continue like this," Kim whispered as the two men looked at her. "If the judge is going to let him see them, then we have to accept that Tommy and we have to try to get along. It's not for me or you, but for the kids."

"It's always been for the kids," Tommy said as Jeremy looked over at him and realized that the man across from him was being as sincere as he could possibly be, considering the fact that the only thing holding him back from beating him to a bloody pulp was the tiny woman in front of him.

"Jeremy, you too, I'm not going to allow this to continue and I can kinda hold him to it, you are another matter," Kim said as she turned to face him and Jeremy took a step back, slightly confused. Kim had never talked to him like that before when they were married.

"I'll be civil," Jeremy forced out as Kim barely nodded. "I guess I should be on my way, have a good night."

"You too," Kim said as she watched him leave and then collapsed into Tommy's arms.

"You did good, everything is all right the food is ready, you can go back and rest, I'll be up in a little while," Tommy said as she gave him a hug and then waddled up the stairs. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this."


	20. Chapter 20

"What took you so long?" Kim asked as Tommy walked in an hour and a half later. "You okay?"

"Just thinking, I wonder if I'm going to make mistakes as a parent," Tommy said as Kim gave him a concerned look.

"You will, everyone does, but we'll work it all out. You've been great with Jessie and Austin and they aren't even yours. You'll be fine with this one, I promise," Kim said as she reached over to place his hand on her stomach. "He's in a good mood tonight."

"You change your mind about the baby's sex?" Tommy asked as she laughed.

"It's just whatever feeling I have at the moment, right now I think it's a boy. He kicks the same way that Austin did, but I don't know," Kim said as she leaned against him. "I'm kinda stressed from earlier."

"I can feel it," Tommy said as his hand gently rubbed her shoulders and she sighed. "Sit up, I'll get your back."

"Okay," Kim said as she forced herself to sit up and he crawled in behind her as she leaned back against him.

"Okay, maybe no back rub," Tommy said as he settled his arms around her and the baby kicked against him.

"You've always felt good, just hold me," Kim whispered as he nodded and settled his head on her shoulder.

"You feel good too, it's no problem," Tommy whispered as he fully embraced her and she let out a sigh. "How big did you get the last couple times?"

"Big enough that it looks like more than a basketball when I'm at full term," Kim said as he let out a gentle chuckle.

"I'm guessing that some things are going to become more uncomfortable the farther along you get," Tommy said as she laughed. "I take that as a yes."

"It is a yes, although Jeremy was never interested after I got bigger than a small bump that he could barely see. He hated when I was pregnant," Kim murmured as he gave her a kiss on the neck and she sighed. "I take it this isn't a good time to compare the two of you."

"I'd prefer you not right now," Tommy said as she closed her eyes and he saw the stress lift from her face and it be replaced by a look of utter bliss. "Kim…"

"Hmm?" she asked keeping her eyes closed as Tommy's breath linger near her ear and she tried to keep her senses about her.

"I haven't seen that look on your face in a long time," he said as he brushed her hair out of her face and she relaxed even further.

"I haven't felt like this in awhile," she stated as she gently took his hands in hers and opened her eyes. "Don't stop, please."

"You don't even have to ask," he said as he carefully moved out from behind her and then gave her a kiss.

* * *

"Daddy!" Austin yelled as Tommy woke up the next morning and looked down to see where the blanket was over the both of them.

"What is buddy?" Tommy asked as Kim looked over at the both of them with a tried glance. "Go wait in the hall for a second and I'll be right out. Mama needs some more sleep."

"Okay," Austin said as he walked back out of their room and Tommy went over to his drawer to pull out a pair of his boxers.

"Thank you," Kim whispered as she looked over at him and he smiled.

"No problem, you've only gotten about two hours asleep actually, so I understand," Tommy whispered as he gave her a quick kiss and then pulled on his t-shirt on the way out. "Get some more sleep."

"I will," Kim said as she pulled the comforter up over her body and then quickly drifted back off to sleep.

"Hey, come on, let's go wake up Jessie," Tommy said as Austin nodded and they then walked over to Jessie's room. The little girl was curled up in a ball in the center of her bed and he smiled. She always slept like that and he wasn't completely sure why. "Wake up."

"Daddy, what's for breakfast?" Austin asked as Jessie looked over at them sleepily.

"Not sure, who's turn is it to choose Jessie?" Tommy asked as she sat up and looked over at him. "Saturday morning breakfast, is it your turn or Austin's to pick?"

"It's Mama's turn," Jessie said as Tommy smiled.

"Mama needs some more sleep, you or Austin can pick," Tommy said as Jessie nodded and then rolled out of bed. "Get dressed and then come downstairs."

"Okay, Daddy," Jessie said as he walked out of the room and then back into Austin's to get him dressed as well. They were going to go to the park, just like they did every Saturday, he just didn't know if he'd have the heart to wake Kimberly up for it.

* * *

Kim awoke several hours later and looked over at the clock. If she knew Tommy he had not woken her up because she needed more sleep. She felt bad for missing out on this type of family thing, but she would have been no good. Last night had been wonderful, she just was exhausted because of the pregnancy. At one time that sort of thing had been able to make her stay up for days on end, but now she couldn't even manage going more than 12 hours without a nap of some kind.

She forced herself out of bed and walked into their bathroom to look at herself. A small smile played on her face as she saw the marks he had left on her in the night. She then looked down at her growing belly and smiled as the baby moved under her skin. She had had very few happy moments like this when she had been pregnant with the others. She loved her children, but she couldn't forget the heartache she had gone through while she was pregnant with them.

Jeremy had been interested in them having sex, but he had never wanted children. He had been so mad when Kimberly first found out that she was pregnant, then he had been furious with her when the first baby was a girl. At that point he was determined that they must have a boy, Austin had come of a very bad night for her. She was sure if she told Tommy that, that he would not be happy. He was sure to go after him, that was why he didn't know, why he would never know.

"You're awake," Tommy said as he walked into the bathroom and looked over at her. "Are you sure you got enough sleep?"

"Positive, I woke up without an alarm or the kids for once," Kim said as he placed his hand over her belly. "I feel like I'm getting bigger by the day."

"I'm not going to comment on that one," Tommy said as she playfully hit him on the arm. "I can't say anything that won't make you mad."

"Okay, you've got a point," Kim said as he gave her a quick kiss. "The kids called a little while ago, they want to talk to you about something."

"I'll get with them in a little while. You're sure that you're all right?" Tommy asked as she looked down and then back up at him. "Kim…"

"I think I'm okay, I've never felt like this with the other two," Kim said as he gave her a confused look. "I told you that I never was really happy with them, I couldn't be."

"You can be now, come on, food is probably a good idea for you," Tommy gently prodded as she nodded.

"Let me get dressed and I'll be out there with you," Kim said as he nodded and then quickly gave her a hug.

"Don't be too long," Tommy whispered as her hands grabbed his and he gave her a concerned look. "Kim…"

"Lying down might be best," Kim murmured as he quickly nodded and then helped her back into bed. "I'm not feeling so good Tommy."

"Do you want me to call the doctor?" he asked as he tucked her into bed and she looked up at him with a smile.

"No, I'll be fine. Just let me lay down for a little while," she said as he sat down next to her and carefully held her hands.

"Okay, if you get any worse…" Tommy began as she laughed. He was always worried about her, but she knew that this was nothing to worry about, merely a bad day for a pregnant woman.

"I'll yell, play with the kids," Kim said as he leaned down to give her a kiss.

"I think I'll get you something to eat first," Tommy said as he stood up and looked down at her.

"Fine, your choice," Kim agreed as he leaned down and gently kissed her belly.

"I just want the two of you to be okay," Tommy whispered as he gave her hand a squeeze and he then walked out of the room to gather her some lunch.

"I know," Kim whispered in return as the door closed and she then snuggled back down in the covers.


End file.
